Anti-Musharraf Strike Jolts Key Pakistani Cities

A general strike Saturday shut down parts of Pakistan after a coalition of Islamic groups called for a protest to demand that the country’s military president step down.

Shops were closed in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, in parts of the nation’s biggest city, Karachi, and in Peshawar, the capital of North-West Frontier Province, where Islamic parties are in power. Business activity also slowed in Quetta, the capital of the southwestern province of Baluchistan, where police said men from the Islamic coalition damaged some shops and vehicles.

However, Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao, speaking at a news conference in the capital, Islamabad, termed the strike a “complete failure,” saying the people had rejected extremist elements by keeping their shops open.

The six-party Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, or United Action Forum, also called MMA, issued the call for a nationwide strike last month against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s policies and to pressure him to resign.

On Friday, police arrested hundreds of MMA activists, including five lawmakers, in southern Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital.

About 200 more were detained Saturday in Lahore after clashes with police, which left 18 people injured, including some policemen

Quetta Police Chief Salman Haider said there were incidents of violence in that city.

“We will arrest those who attacked vehicles and forced people to close their shops,” he said.

Pakistan is a key ally of the Bush administration in its war on terrorism, but the MMA has opposed Musharraf since U.S.-led coalition forces attacked neighboring Afghanistan in 2001 to oust the Taliban regime.