Shutdown strike in Pakistani cities after Karachi bloodshed

Karachi and other major Pakistani cities were hit by a general strike today in protest against violence that has left 41 dead.

The deaths have come amid growing discontent over President Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s suspension of the chief justice.

Shops were shut and traffic was thin on the roads in the southern port city, where security forces now have authority to shoot rioters on sight, after the weekend witnessed the worst political violence to hit Pakistan in years.

Security forces on Saturday took no action as rival groups demonstrating over an aborted visit to Karachi by suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry fought fierce clashes that also wounded more than 150 and caused widespread damage to property. Opposition parties blamed the government for the violence and called today’s strike.

“There is a complete strike in Karachi,” said Azhar Faruqi, the city police chief.

He reported that law and order was improving – after the unrest took an ominous ethnic turn yesterday with clashes between Urdu-speaking Mohajirs linked to a pro-government party and Pashtuns, a rivalry that has caused bloodshed in the past.

Officials said the strike was being observed in towns and cities across southern Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital. It was also observed in the capitals of Pakistan’s other three provinces, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta.

“Today’s strike is a referendum against Musharraf, and we think he should step down as soon as possible,” said Ameerul Azeem, a spokesman for the Mutahida Majls-e-Amal, an opposition coalition of hard-line religious parties.

The weekend’s violence marked a serious escalation in a crisis that began on March 9 when Musharraf suspended Chaudhry, and has hardened opposition to plans for Musharraf, a key US ally, to extend his nearly eight-year rule.

Musharraf plans to seek another five-year term as president this autumn. Critics say his ouster of the independent-minded judge was designed to head off any legal challenges that would likely arise if Musharraf also retains his position as army chief. The government denies the move was politically motivated and says the judge had abused his office.