The party has also announced it will observe a mourning day following Friday\u2019s suicide bombing<\/a> at an imambargah in Islamabad that claimed at least 36 lives<\/a>.<\/p>\n In a statement on X, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja asserted that a strike was a \u201cdocumented Constitutional method to express irritation with the system\u201d.<\/p>\n He said the public could express their \u201chatred towards lies and oppression from their doorsteps\u201d in this way. \u201cShop closed, vehicle jammed. No tyrant can compare to 250 million. Today is the day of a strike.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a day of mourning over the stolen vote and terrorism in Balochistan and Islamabad,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Recalling the Feb 8, 2024 elections, Raja termed it a \u201chistoric moment of the Pakistani nation\u2019s democratic expression\u201d. He highlighted that the people voted<\/a> for PTI in support of its founder Imran Khan despite \u201cmonths-long oppression and snatching the electoral symbol\u201d.<\/p>\n He further said, \u201cOn that dark evening, the wolves who looted the votes of those young people and of the entire nation across the country, they negated the very existence of millions of human beings.\u201d<\/p>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n The TTAP and PTI shared purported visuals of shops shut in various cities, including KP\u2019s Peshawar<\/a>, Abbottabad<\/a>, Balakot<\/a>, Haripur<\/a>, Bajaur<\/a>, Upper Chitral<\/a> and Lakki Marwat<\/a>; Sindh\u2019s Hyderabad<\/a>, Mirpurkhas<\/a>, Umerkot<\/a>, Badin<\/a> and Nawabshah<\/a>; Punjab\u2019s Mandi Bahauddin<\/a>, Mianwali<\/a>, Muzaffargarh<\/a>; and Balochistan\u2019s Quetta<\/a>, Chaman<\/a>, Zhob<\/a>, and Kuchlak<\/a>.<\/p>\n It also posted videos showing PTI workers and supporters gathered in KP\u2019s Kohat<\/a>, as well as Balochistan\u2019s Nasirabad<\/a>, Qila Saifullah<\/a>, Chaman<\/a> and Pishin<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n On Saturday, PTI leader Asad Qaiser had told Dawn<\/em> the party had neither postponed nor cancelled its protest programme. \u201cThe day will be observed as a National Day of Mourning and, at the same time, protests will be held across the country against rigging in the general election,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Qaiser said the party would hold protests and a shutter-down strike \u201cwith the masses\u201d against the alleged electoral manipulation.<\/p>\n In KP, the PTI said it would hold rallies and processions at district and tehsil levels. Some traders and transport unions also agreed to join the party\u2019s protest.<\/p>\n A Dawn<\/em> correspondent reported a partial strike was being observed in Peshawar\u2019s interior city. Shops in Qissa Khwani Bazaar and other streets of the interior city were mostly open, but those in Hashtnagri and Rampura were closed.<\/p>\n PTI leader Omar Ayub Khan said in a post on X that there was a shutter-down strike in Haripur Bazaar and a \u201ctotal public transport wheel jam\u201d.<\/p>\n He expressed his gratitude to \u201call traders associations and transport associations of Haripur for their cooperation in showing solidarity\u201d with TTAP\u2019s call.<\/p>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n PTI district president Irfan Saleem said workers in Peshawar would gather in the Hashtnagri area around noon before marching through the city. He said a rally at Chowk Yadgar would be addressed by party leaders.<\/p>\n PTI KP Deputy Information Secretary Ikram Khatana said that the party\u2019s Peshawar chapter would arrange a demonstration at Chowk Yadgar in the afternoon. Seating arrangement and panaflex boards could be seen at the venue, with PTI banners hanging in front of closed shops.<\/p>\n He said that party workers would gather at Hashtnagri Chowk around 12pm and later march through Rampura Bazaar to reach Chowk Yadgar.<\/p>\n Besides, he said that all the district chapters across the province would arrange events.<\/p>\n In Okara, police arrested<\/a> 30 PTI workers ahead of Sunday\u2019s protests.<\/p>\n PTI\u2019s Mehr Abdul Sattar was detained for seven days under the MPO Ordinance. Police also raided the house of PTI-backed MNA Usama Hamza in Gojra, but he was not found.<\/p>\n All Karachi Tajir Ittehad Chairman Atiq Mir told Dawn<\/em> that although markets were shut, the reason was that it was a public holiday.<\/p>\n He said 100 markets at Jodia Bazaar, 50 markets in Saddar, 40 markets on Tariq Road and around 40 markets in Clifton and Defence Housing Authority (DHA) were closed.<\/p>\n But he clarified, \u201cGenerally, Sunday is a public holiday and most markets remain closed. However, vendors usually do business on Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n Nevertheless, PTI Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh shared pictures, saying that Jackson Electronics Market was among the bazaars shut in Karachi\u2019s Keamari district.<\/p>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n The PTI\u2019s Karachi chapter also claimed that markets in Safoora Town<\/a>, North Nazimabad<\/a>, Landhi<\/a>, Shah Faisal Colony<\/a>, Model Town<\/a> and Malir<\/a> were shut by traders to record their protest silently.<\/p>\n In another post, Sheikh contended, \u201cThis strike is not just a strike, it\u2019s a referendum! Today\u2019s nationwide strike has set a new precedent.<\/p>\n \u201cHistorically, strikes in this province were enforced with sticks, threats, roadblocks, burning tyres, even bullets and arson.\u201d<\/p>\n He claimed, \u201cThis may be the first strike in Pakistan\u2019s history where workers were not on the streets \u2014 yet the public itself shut everything down. That is not a strike; that is a referendum.\u201d<\/p>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n In Punjab, the PTI said it would observe a \u201csilent agitation\u201d by urging people to stay home and keep bazaars and transport shut voluntarily as part of a shutter-down and wheel-jam strike to express their resentment against a \u201cForm-47 government that stole people\u2019s mandate\u201d.<\/p>\n However, a Dawn<\/em> correspondent in Lahore reported that markets exhibited the usual Sunday momentum, with routine traffic movement observed.<\/p>\n The city displayed a lively scene as people took part in the Basant festival<\/a>, which was in its last day.<\/p>\n The PTI\u2019s Lahore chapter claimed on X at 11:45am that police had reached Sujawal Bridge in Sadiqabad to force people to open their shops.<\/p>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n PTI Punjab Chief Organiser Aliya Hamza Malik had urged people to suspend outdoor activity and stay home as a form of protest. She also called for torch-bearing rallies after Maghrib prayers at the union council level.<\/p>\n Party leaders in the province also criticised police raids and arrests of workers on Saturday, alleging harassment of families during search operations.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, most of the markets in the federal capital remained open on Sunday as traders did not heed the PTI\u2019s strike call.<\/p>\n These included the main markets in different sectors and sub-sectors of the city.<\/p>\n While Sunday bazaars act as a litmus test for such calls by political parties, the H-9 weekly bazaar remained open. A Dawn<\/em> correspondent reported that a large number of people were visiting the weekly bazaar.<\/p>\n Fawad Khan, a PTI supporter who was selling garments, said that he and other traders cannot afford to close their shops.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are already hand-to-mouth, and I cannot starve my family. I am a follower of Imran Khan and even voted for his candidate, but I cannot afford to close the stall,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Muhammad Faiq, a resident who had come for shopping, said that although they have sympathy for PTI, it was not possible for him to remain limited to his house on a Sunday.<\/p>\n \u201cI get only one day in a week to purchase grocery and I must do it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n However, resident Muhammad Danish said that all the political parties were the same and they never cared about the masses.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen PTI was in power, they did not care about the masses and Imran Khan has been facing charges that he sold the [state] gifts. He used to give examples of different premiers that they come to office on bicycles but he himself travelled on a helicopter to go to office,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one, including the establishment, cares about Pakistan; otherwise, we would not be suffering and facing such a situation,\u201d he lamented.<\/p>\n PTI Islamabad President Amir Mughal had said the party would combine the protest with mourning activities.<\/p>\n A local district administration official confirmed that the metro bus service that runs between the twin cities was suspended. The electric bus service operated by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) was also suspended.<\/p>\n However, traffic on the capital\u2019s roads was reported to be the same as usual.<\/p>\n A complete shutter-down and wheel-jam strike was reported in the provincial capital Quetta.<\/p>\n All shops, markets, shopping malls and bazaars were shut. Traffic on the roads was also thin in Quetta, with some roads in the city closed due to traffic.<\/p>\n Mobile internet services have been suspended again<\/a>, a Dawn<\/em> correspondent reported.<\/p>\n Workers of the PTI and the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) \u2014 which is headed by TTAP chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai \u2014 staged demonstrations in some areas of the city.<\/p>\n Arrests were also reported in the city. There were also reports about cops detaining several political workers who were forcibly closing shops and blocking roads.<\/p>\n In a post on X, PTI\u2019s Balochistan chapter shared a list of 40 TTAP workers it claimed had been arrested so far.<\/p>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Clashes also took place in the Brewery and Khaizi Chowk areas along the Western Bypass between police and political workers as they had blocked the road by burning tyres and putting up barricades.<\/p>\n Police were reported to have used tear gas to disperse the protesters, and removed the barricades and the burning tyres to open the road for traffic.<\/p>\n The same situation was also witnessed in the Eastern Bypass area, which was closed in the morning, but people started their businesses and opened shops in the Bosa Mandi area after 1pm.<\/p>\n A small demonstration also took place near Airport Road, but police dispersed the participants and cleared the route for traffic.<\/p>\n Reports reaching from Chaman, Qila Saifullah, Qila Abdullah, Pishin, Harnai, Duki, Ziarat, Kan Mehtarzai, Muslim Bagh, Loralai, Barkhan, Usta Muhammad, Nasirabad and other areas suggested that small protest demonstrations of PTI and other parties, including PkMAP, were held.<\/p>\n Protesters attempted to block inter-provincial roads, but police dispersed them, reportedly resorting to baton charges in Qila Saifullah.<\/p>\n<\/a>KP<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Sindh<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Punjab<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Islamabad, Rawalpindi<\/h2>\n
![\"People](\"https:\/\/i.dawn.com\/primary\/2026\/02\/08124008262918d.webp\")
<\/div><\/a>Balochistan<\/h2>\n