QUETTA: A bomb exploded near a rally in Balochistan on Tuesday, injuring around 20 people, police said.

The bomb was planted on a motorbike and went off during a rally near the district office of the Jamhori Watan Party in Dera Allah Yar, they said.

"The blast triggered panic and initial reports said around 20 people were wounded," local police officer Nazir Ahmed Kurd told AFP. Crowds gathered outside the hospital, where at least three people were in serious condition, he added. The blast came as nationalist parties in the restive province called a strike on Tuesday over Bugti's killing. Meanwhile, the Nasirabad police recovered and defused a 20-kg explosive device planted near the district office of the JWP in Dera Murad Jamali. — Agencies

Muhammad Ejaz Khan adds from Quetta: A wheel jam and shutter-down strike was observed on the eve of the second death anniversary of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan on Tuesday. Business activities remained at a standstill while traffic and public transport stayed off the road.

Business concerns and shops were closed at the Jinnah Road, Liaquat Bazar, Shahrah-e-Iqbal, Prince Road, Abdul Sattar Road, Kassi Road, Toghi Road, McCongy Road, Fatima Jinnah Road, Soraj Ganj Bazaar, Sirki Road, Jail Road, Alamo Chowk and other areas of the provincial capital.

Private banks and educational institutions also remained closed. In some schools, the administration declared an unofficial holiday in order to save their students and staff from any inconvenience due to the strike. An extremely thin attendance was observed in the public and private offices in the provincial metropolis.

In Hazar Ganji, activists of the Anjuman Ittehad Marri brawled with personnel of the law enforcement agencies. It was reported that at least five activists were injured. A group of some enraged persons ransacked two banks, besides setting ablaze a police vehicle and damaging two other vehicles. They also damaged properties of four other banks and a post office located in the Hazar Ganji area. Some activists of a nationalist party also forced the shopkeepers at the Meezan Chowk to close their shops but it was strongly resisted by the shopkeepers.

Reports reaching from Khuzdar, Turbat, Gwadar, Sibi, Noshki, Dalbandin, Kalat, Mastung, Jaffarabad, Naseerabad, Bolan, Hub, Lasbela, Kharan, Awaran and other Baloch areas suggested that a complete shutter down was also observed there.