QUETTA: A shutter-down strike on Thursday was being observed in Quetta and different parts of Balochistan on the call of the Balochistan National Party - Mengal (BNP-M) against the forced disappearances and overall worsening law and order situation of the province.

Shops and business centers were closed in various parts of Quetta, Khuzdar, Wadh, Kharan, Panjgoor and other Baloch dominated areas of Balochistan.

Moreover, routine life came to a standstill due to the strike.

BNP-M's Information Secretary Agha Hassan Baloch told Dawn.com that law enforcement agencies were picking up Baloch political workers, adding that the situation of chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal's hometown, Wadh, was worsened due to a pre-planned conspiracy.

Hasan said people reposed their confidence in BNP during the May 11 polls, but the establishment turned their success into defeat.

Meanwhile, baton-wielding police officers were deployed at all the sensitive parts of Quetta to maintain peace during the strike.

Para-military troops and police have been patrolling on Quetta's Sariab road and other sensitive areas since morning.

No untoward incident was reported from any part of the restive province.