Police said protesters near the home of President Asif Ali Zardari in the financial hub of Karachi pelted stones as they shouted slogans including “We’ll sacrifice our lives — we’ll save the sanctity of the Prophet”.
Teargas shells were fired to disperse them, while normally busy town centres turned quiet across the country, AFP reporters said, following a move to amend a law which permits death sentences for those found to have blasphemed.
Public transport in Karachi is unavailable, while petrol pumps and business centres have also been shut down.
The strike is also being observed in Lahore where PML-N, PML-Q, Tehreek-i-Insaf and other religious and trade organisations have announced their support for the cause. More than 2,500 activists from different religious parties held three protest rallies in Multan city in central Punjab province, where a shutter-down strike was observed and markets and bazaars remained closed, an AFP reporter said.
A complete shutter down strike is also being observed in Peshawar and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Balochistan has also joined the call for protest as shops and business centres remain closed in Quetta and other cities.
