অ্যাকসেসিবিলিটি লিংক

Pakistan Police Brace for More Violence, After Deadly Rioting Wednesday


Police in Pakistan were bracing early on Thursday for more violent anti-Western protests, after rioting sparked by anger over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad raged in several Pakistani cities on Wednesday.

At least three people died in the third straight day of rioting in the cities of Peshawar and Lahore.

Tens of thousands of people marched in Peshawar, where several Western businesses were burned and an eight-year-old boy was killed during clashes with police. Witnesses say a young man was also electrocuted by a downed power line.

President Pervez Musharraf condemned the latest rioting and warned that some people were exploiting the situation to create violence.

Demonstrations also continued in Lahore, despite a ban on street protests aimed at stopping the violence. One man was shot dead in confrontations with police.

Wednesday, the Islamist-led government in Pakistan's North West Frontier province, which includes Peshawar, ordered all schools and colleges to close for a week. Police there said the situation had calmed by late Wednesday, but said the city was still tense.

Authorities also announced an indefinite ban on rallies in eastern Pakistan. Rioting also spread to the town of Tank, south of Peshawar, where the French news agency says a policeman was wounded by gunfire as a mob torched about 25 video and music shops.

XS
SM
MD
LG