Pakistani police detained more than 500 religious activists ahead of a general strike on Friday called by fundamentalist parties to protest against the US military campaign in Afghanistan, officials said.
More than 500 activists of various religious parties have been detained by the police to ward off threats of violence and disturbance to civic activities, an interior ministry official told news persons. Around 250 people were detained in the northwestern city of Peshawar, he said. Another 150 were held in the southern city of Karachi and about 70 in the eastern city of Lahore. About 50 were taken into custody in Rawalpindi near Islamabad.
President Pervez Musharraf warned in a message released on Friday that the government was determined to ensure stability during the opposition protests against the US-led military campaign in Afghanistan. Bureau Report