HYDERABAD, Oct 29: A man was killed and nine others were injured as blasts, mainly caused by crackers, rocked Karachi and several other cities and towns of Sindh on Tuesday on the eve of a strike called by a nationalist party against the recently promulgated anti-terror law.

According to a spokesperson for Sindh police, at least 17 explosions were reported from Hyderabad, Karachi, Khairpur, Larkana, Dadu, Nawabshah and Qazi Ahmed.

The Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz has called for a strike on Wednesday against the Pakistan Protection Ordinance which, it fears, will be used to “silence the voice of dissent in Sindh and Balochistan”.

In Hyderabad, a man was killed and four others, two of them policemen, were injured in three blasts.

Mohammad Tufail Lodhi, 66, a retired government employee, was killed outside his house near Noor Mohammad High School when he was hit by a powerful cracker.

Police failed to determine the nature of the blasts and SSP Fida Hussain Mastoi expressed the opinion that Tufail Lodhi might have been shot dead. “There are no signs of a blast on the site of the incident,” he told journalists.

But he confirmed that two other blasts had taken place, one in Qasimabad and the other in Hyder Chowk area, and said police had beefed up security in the city.

“I thought that the tyre of a vehicle had busted,” said a bookseller about the blast. But the owner of an adjoining restaurant said it was a huge explosion.

According to medico-legal officer Dr Javed Iqbal, the man had died because of an injury in the back of his skull. “He was not hit by a gunshot.”

Bomb disposal expert Saleem Vistro endorsed his views and said that the victim had been directly hit by a locally made cracker. “This is why there is no sign of an explosion or any traces of explosives at the place.”

Shopkeepers closed their shops after the blast at Hyder Chowk as panic gripped the area. Haroon, a resident of Liaquat Colony, was injured when a cracker was hurled in the busy commercial area.

Police constables Asad Channa and Abdul Hameed and a passerby, Munir Khoso, were wounded when a cracker was hurled at a police post in Qasimabad.

In Kotri, a group of people torched a rickshaw, a van, a bus and a pick-up. Two men, Mehboob Pathan and Saeen Baba, suffered injuries in blasts caused by crackers in Khurshid Colony.

In Karachi, three men were injured when a cracker exploded near a restaurant in Sachal Goth.

In Dadu, four crackers were hurled at different places, triggering panic in the town.

The first incident took place outside the press club and the motorcycle of a journalist caught fire. The other incidents were reported from Station Road, Mallah Chowk and the bus terminal.

Journalists held a meeting and condemned the attack. They blamed police for security lapse. They said they had informed police about the possibility of such an incident but no policeman was deployed outside the club.

A cracker was hurled at the Jamshoro railway crossing. It caused no loss of life or damage to property.

Two cracker blasts in Johi lead to closure of shops.

A cracker was also hurled in Pakka Chang in Khairpur district.

Police beefed up security in Khairpur city and contingents of policemen were deployed at different roundabouts.

In Naushahro Feroze, an explosion caused minor damage to the railway track near Mehrabpur Railway Station.

Railway officials said the track had been repaired and the movement of trains had remained unaffected.