“Muted protest over Pakistan raids,” from the BBC:
About 2,000 religious activists have attended protests in Pakistan against a crackdown on suspected extremists following the 7 July London bombings.
Rallies were held in Islamabad and other cities. Islamic parties who called the protests say their members have been arrested and want them freed.
Police have made 200 arrests this week, many in raids on religious schools…
In Islamabad, about 1,000 protesters took to the streets. Activists denounced Gen Musharraf, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W Bush.
In one incident, demonstrators set a police motorcycle alight, but correspondents say the rallies were on the whole muted.
Several hundred demonstrators turned out in Karachi, and there were similar-sized protests in Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta…
“Our protest is against the raids being conducted on madrassas and mosques to appease the United States and the West,” MMA spokesman Shahid Shamsi told Reuters…