Thousands of Pakistani youths have joined a rally in Karachi to protest the alleged desecration of the Muslim holy book by interrogators at a US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The protesters chanted anti-American slogans and burnt an effigy of President Bush. The rally was organized by the six-party Islamic alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, which called it a prelude to nationwide demonstrations planned for Friday.
Wednesday's rally follows violent anti-American protests in several Muslim countries sparked by an article in Newsweek magazine that said interrogators had desecrated the Koran. The protests are continuing even though Newsweek later retracted its report and apologized, and the Pentagon's own investigation showed no evidence to support the allegation.