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| Balochistan mourns Benazir’s death amid violence |
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Saturday, December 29, 2007
By Muhammad Ejaz Khan
QUETTA: Life was completely paralysed in the provincial capital and other districts of Balochistan on Friday, as the citizens protested against the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, while violence flared in the Jafarabad district and some other areas at the Sindh-Balochistan border.
Sources said some infuriated mob damaged three banks and set ablaze town council offices of Tehsil Sohbutpur in the Jafarabad district after hearing the news of assassination. The protesters came out of the houses and staged demonstrations.
Independent sources from Jafarabad said the protesters also torched official property and vehicles.
Many vehicles were damaged on the National Highway, which remained blocked throughout the day.
The protesters created hurdles on highways and set tyres ablaze. They pelted stones on vehicles and also resorted to aerial firing.
Quetta was presenting a deserted look as soon as the news of the tragic incident spread here and the citizens mourned the death of Benazir Bhutto.
All the business centres and markets remained closed throughout the day on the call of the All Parties' Democratic Movement (APDM).
There was thin traffic on the roads of the city. But public transport was not available to the citizens.
The high command of the APDM postponed the election boycott movement when the news aired on the national and international media about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. A large number of activists and office bearers of the PPP left Quetta for Larkana on Thursday night to attend her funeral.
Reports said majority of the businessmen kept their businesses closed in Loralai, Pishin, Chaman, Zhob, Qila Saifullah, Sibi, Kalat, Khuzdar, Turbat, Panjgur and Gwadar after the Rawalpindi carnage, which claimed the life of Benazir Bhutto.
Balochistan Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani and Caretaker Chief Minister Sardar Saleh Muhammad Bhootani in their separate condolence messages expressed their deep grief over the tragic incident.
Nearly all the Pakhtoon and Baloch nationalist parties, including the Pukhtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), National Party (NP), Balochistan National Party-Mengal and others, strongly condemned the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.
Meanwhile, the funeral prayers in absentia of Benazir Bhutto were offered here at the Railway Hockey Ground. A large number of people belonging to different walks of life offered the prayers and prayed for the departed soul.
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