Karachi: Pakistan’s largest city and financial hub on Thursday remained completely shut as a powerful political party mourned the death of one of its workers, whose tortured body was found dumped on Wednesday.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which strongly holds the urban constituencies of southern Pakistan, called for the strike after Mohammad Sohail, one of its office bearers, was found dead in the Mawach Goth area in western Karachi.

Schools and other educational institutions remained closed, while state-run universities called off examinations in Karachi and Hyderabad.

Fuel stations also suspended their operations and public transport remained off the road.

All the main shopping centres, business centres and retail markets kept their shutters down in compliance with the MQM strike call.

Sohail was picked up by unknown men on December 15 and the party lodged a complaint expressing concerns that he might have picked up by plain-clothed police officers.

The party believes the worker was murdered extra judicially.

“The MQM is being politically victimised ... police and (paramilitary) Rangers have enforced the law of jungle in the city,” MQM chief Altaf Hussain, who lives in exile in London, said in a statement.

In an overnight press conference, Qamar Mansour, the MQM local chief, claimed that so far 36 of the party workers were extra-judicially killed by the law enforcement agencies in over one year.

The Karachi police chief has constituted a committee to probe into the murder of the party worker after the provincial chief minister and Prim Minister Nawaz Sharif took the notice of the incident.

“The (police) chief has appointed three senior police officers to investigate the matter,” a police spokesman said.

Funeral prayers for Sohail were offered later in the day, and a large number of MQM leaders, workers and sympathiser participated.

Haider Abbas Rizvi, a senior leader of the party, in a press conference after the funeral, warned the government to not test the endurance of the workers, whose temperament he said was on the brink.

Hussain, in a statement later on, offered his thank to the businemen, traders, and transporters for making the strike a success by shutting down their businesses. He also appealed for the opening of the city in the evening.

Karachi, a city of 18 million people which contributes 42 per cent of Pakistan’s GDP, has been plagued by sectarian, ethnic and political violence for years.