Shopkeepers protests against the pull down of shutter are increasing crime rate in the area: Pakistan

Islamabad, Pakistan:

Armed activists of STP on Monday were forcing shopkeepers to pull down the shutters at Regal Chowk and called for a shutter down strike across Shaheed Benazirabad district to protest the arrest of its workers and the rising crime rate.

The leaders of STP said that the police has arrested the group’s workers in Nawabshah, Sakrand and other areas continuing for many days. They also condemned the police raid on the residence of a senior STP leader Nisar Keerio. They accused the police of wrongly arresting Keerio in a case of car theft.

When the police tried to stop them one of the activists fired some shots at the police wounding a constable by the name Ramzan Jamali, said the police. According to sources, the police team fired into the air to scare away the activists after failing to disperse them by applying a baton charge, reported Dawn.

The STP workers were protesting in different areas and as per the reports, the police baton charged them at several points to disperse them. The party claimed that over two dozen of its activists, workers and supporters were injured and picked up during the police action.

It also claimed that all main markets and bazaars, fuel stations, shops and vending stalls remained closed in Nawabshah and Sakrand in response to the strike call.

Police, however, claimed that no strike was observed anywhere in the [Shaheed Benazirabad] district, reported the media outlet.