The strike was total in Karachi, the country's commercial capital, and the entire Sindh province while other provincial capitals Peshawar and Quetta also responded spontaneously, reports received here from different parts of the country said.The strike was more or less successful also in Punjab, considered as the support base of Prime Minister Sharif, with reports from Lahore and Rawalpindi saying that at least 75 to 80 per cent of the shops and other establishments were closed and traffic was thin on the roads.

Most of the shopping malls in capital Islamabad were closed but governmentoffices were open though the attendance was thin.Karachi shut down completely following violence during a rally by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Friday, while there were reportsof sporadic clashes in different parts of the city.Unconfirmed reports said that at least 11 vehicles had been burnt and three bomb blasts heard in different parts of city.The strike had originally been called by the traders association in protest against the government's decision to impose 15 per cent general sales tax on a number of items but all the opposition parties lent support to it criticising the government's policies in Sindh where a crackdown has been launched against MQM and Pakistan People's Party.