QUETTA, Pakistan: Complete strike observed in the provincial capital of Baluchistan on Sunday as people protested Saturday’s target killings of nine people, including eight Hazaras, and the government’s failure to improve the law and order situation.

Most parts of Quetta wore a deserted look in response to the wheel-jam and shutter-down strike call by Tehreek Nafaz Figh-e-Jafariya(TNFJ) and Hazara Democratic Party (HDP), which was endorsed by the Balochistan National Party (BNP), Pushtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party(PMAP) and others.

All major markets and business centers at Shahra-e-Iqbal, Jinnah Road, Liaquat Bazaar, Prince Road, Abdul Sattar Road, Masjid Road, Alamdar Road and Hazara Town remained closed. Traffic was almost nil in Hazara town and Marriabad and very thin traffic was visible on the national highways connecting the city with the rest of the province.

3 days earlier TNFJ Provincial leader Shabbir Qazalabash also fell victim to terrorist attack along with 5 others on Prince Road.

People belonging to the TNFJ, Mukhtar Force and Hazara community protested against the target killing incidents and staged a sit-in on the second consecutive day on Sunday outside the Brewery Police station. The protestors burnt tyres and chanted slogans against the police and the government, holding it responsible for the killings.

Heavy contingents of Frontier Corps (FC), police and other law enforcement agencies were deployed but no untoward incident was reported.Nine people including eight Hazaras were killed in different localities of Quetta last Saturday, raising the death toll to 26 in the last 15 days.