Shutter-down strike being observed across Pakistan in solidarity with Palestinians

RAWALPINDI: A nationwide shutter-down strike is being observed across Pakistan on Saturday, following a call by Jamaat-e-Islami and various traders’ associations to express solidarity with the Palestinian people and protest against Israeli atrocities in Gaza.

Almost all shops and major markets remain closed, with business activities suspended in several cities, including Karachi, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Charsadda, and Peshawar. Traffic on the roads is significantly lighter than usual, and lawyers have also boycotted court proceedings.

Protest rallies are being held in various areas to show support for the people of Gaza.

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman stated that the Pakistani nation cannot tolerate the ongoing genocide of Palestinians.

Meanwhile, in a statement issued today, All Pakistan Traders Association President Ajmal Baloch announced that traders will stage a protest at Abpara Chowk in Islamabad at 5 PM. He also called for the resignation of the UN Secretary-General over the Gaza crisis.

Notably, the Health Ministry in Gaza reports that 1,978 people have now been killed and 5,207 injured since Israel broke its ceasefire with Hamas on March 18, 2025.

At least 51,355 Palestinians have been confirmed killed and 117,248 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza since it began 18 months ago.

The Gaza Government Media Office updated its death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.

Gaza’s health system has been devastated by Israel’s 18-month-old military campaign, launched in response to the October 7 attack by Hamas in 2023, putting many of the territory’s hospitals out of action, killing medics, and reducing crucial supplies.

Since a January ceasefire collapsed on March 18, Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,900 Palestinians, many of them civilians, according to the Gaza health authorities, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced as Israel seized what it calls a buffer zone of Gaza’s land.

Efforts by Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have so far failed to reconcile disputes between the two warring parties, Israel and Hamas.

The attack on Israel by Hamas in October 2023 killed 1,200 people, and 251 hostages were taken to Gaza. Since then, more than 51,300 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to health officials.