Strike paralyses Balochistan

QUETTA - A complete shutterdown and wheel-jam strike was observed in different towns of Balochistan on Wednesday against the killing of two students in bomb blasts at Khuzdar Engineering University. In Khuzdar, the protest was marked by widespread violence, as infuriated protestors ransacked banks and utility stores besides torching a post office.
Two students of the varsity were killed and over 36 wounded in two bomb blasts in the campus while attending a cultural and musical show on Tuesday night.
The strike call was given by Baloch Students Organisation (BSO-Azad), which was also supported by other nationalist parties and students organisations. BSO-Azad has also announced three days and shutterdown strike today (Thursday) across against the Khuzdar incident.
According to reports reaching from Khuzdar, complete shutterdown and wheel-jam strike was observed as a protest against the incident. Unruly activists of BSO-Azad and other organisations blocked Quetta-Karachi Highway by burning tyres and erecting barricades. In this connection, a rally was also taken out rally during which the protesters chanted slogans against administration and perpetrators of the incident. They also ransacked three banks and three utility stores and also set a post office on fire.
All educational institutions in city remained closed while exams of Engineering University and Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Quetta were also postponed in view of deteriorating law and order situation.
Local administration had taken strict security steps across the district, as police backed by Frontier Corps (FC) were deployed in different areas while mobile squads of law enforcement agencies continued patrolling in various sensitive areas to avert any untoward incident.