To put a check on the violent anti-West demonstrations in Pakistan following the US-led assault on terrorist organisations in Afghanistan, Islamabad has directed the provincial governments to take stern action against those who have damaged public property or who are involved in creating unrest, news reports said on Tuesday. ‘The News’ said President Pervez Musharraf passed the order in Islamabad on Monday after chairing a meeting on law and order in the present circumstances, which was attended by minister for interior and other military and civilian authorities.

''The federal government has issued strict orders to the provincial authorities to deal with the present situation,'' Maj General Rashid Qureshi, press secretary to Gen Musharraf, said, according to the newspaper.

He said the provincial administrations were directed to book all those who were involved in destructive activities, particularly in Quetta and Karachi.
‘The News’ said provincial governments had been asked to evolve their own strategies, keeping in view the situation they were confronting, and adopt suitable measures. Bureau Report