An alliance of six parties called the strike to protest spiralling prices, unemployment and the policies of President Pervez Musharraf.

The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, or United Action Front, said thousands of its workers had been taken into custody in different parts of the country.

"Police have arrested more than 3,000 workers of MMA," the alliance's head, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, told reporters.

The MMA described its protest as successful but witnesses said the strike was partial in most places.

Information Minister Sheikh Rashid insisted the strike had failed and "business remained as usual" in the country.

According to witnesses, several major markets in the country's largest city of Karachi, where most of the arrests were made, were closed and its busy streets looked deserted.

In the country's largest province of Punjab, police used teargas to disperse demonstrators in the provincial capital city of Lahore.

Thousands of people have attended the alliance's recent protest marches against the pro-US policies of Musharraf, a key ally of Washington in what it calls the war against terrorism. Protesters are also opposed to Musharraff's dual position as president and the army chief.

Police arrested 250 workers of MMA including four Islamist MPs in Karachi, city police chief Tariq Jamil told AFP.

"The MPs have been detained for 30-days under Maintenance of Public Order while others were arrested as part of preventive measures," he said.

However, there was no report of any violence from any part of the city, Jamil said.