Anti-U.S. protests claim 4 lives in Pak.

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, SEPT. 21. At least four persons were killed and several injured in clashes with authorities as religious parties and groups enforced a general strike across the country to protest the possible retaliatory U.S. strikes against the Taliban regime from the Pakistani soil.

All the deaths were reported from the port city of Karachi. Protest demonstrations in other parts of the country appear to have been by and large peaceful - a matter of consolation for the Government.

The protesters, most of them from religious outfits, were emotionally charged and chanted anti-U.S. slogans. They warned the Musharraf Government not to swim against the `tide.' In some places, the demonstrators reportedly burnt the U.S. flag and the effigy of the U.S. President, Mr. George Bush.

Huge demonstrations were confined to Karachi, Lahore, Quetta and Peshawar. There were some demonstrations in Islamabad and neighbouring Rawalpindi.

The Jamaat-e-Islami chief, Quazi Hussain Ahmed, who has been vocal in his opposition to Islamabad's decision of siding with the U.S. in its fight against Osama bin Laden and the Taliban, was quoted as saying that the nation would not accept the decision.

It is too early to say whether the protests will gather momentum or fizzle out. The million-dollar question is whether the people will reconcile themselves to the ``changed ground realities'' and the Government's compulsions in making a choice between `the devil and the deep sea.'

As promised, the leaders of the religious parties kept their word and ensured that their supporters did not go out of control. As of now the military is in command, notwithstanding the hardliners' rhetorics.

The 45-minute address of the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, to the nation on Wednesday was essentially aimed at those who are miffed at the Government's decision to implement the `U.S. agenda.' He sought to impress upon them that never was Pakistan faced with such a critical situation since 1971, when it was dismembered following the birth of Bangladesh. Gen. Musharraf sought to make out a forceful case that the very unity and integrity of Pakistan could be at stake if wrong decisions were made.

AFP reports from Peshawar:

Radicals threaten jehad

Thousands of radical Islamists took to the streets of Peshawar, calling a general strike and warning of global `jehad' (holy war) in anticipation of a U.S. attack on neighbouring Afghanistan. Protesters were mostly members of Pakistan's Jamiat-Ulema-i- Islami, though several Pakistan-based Taliban members were seen among the crowds.

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