BBC - Friday, 12 October, 2001, 07:45 GMT 08:45 UK

Pakistan hit by Friday violence The protests began in Karachi early on Friday morning

Police in the Pakistani city of Karachi have fired tear gas at hundreds of radical Muslim protesters who attacked an American fast-food outlet.

The protesters set fire to a KFC restaurant and several buses and cars in other parts of the city.

Tight security has been in place across Pakistan to prevent violent protests against the US-led air strikes on Afghanistan.

Regular soldiers of the Pakistan army have been deployed in Quetta in western Pakistan and other cities for the Muslim day of prayer.

Local Islamic political parties and pro-Taleban supporters plan to hold mass meetings after Friday noon prayers - the first since the military action began.

Reports say thousands of Muslim radicals have streamed into Quetta, which was rocked by violence after the initial air strikes, leaving at least four people dead.

The decision to send in soldiers to bolster an existing police and paramilitary border guard presence was made at a top-level meeting of security chiefs in Islamabad.

Officials say the rallies will be allowed so long as there is no violence.

Symbolic display

Hundreds of soldiers are patrolling Quetta in large trucks and jeeps with roof-mounted machine guns.

Correspondents say it is what is known in the Pakistan military as a "flag march", designed to send the message that the army is on guard against trouble.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf told a meeting of provincial officials that the whole country wanted action against those who threatened peace.

He said that prayer meetings at mosques would not be allowed to foment unrest.

"These are places of worship, sacrosanct, to teach peace and tolerance in society," he said.

The mood in Quetta has been tense since Monday, when thousands rioted, smashing property and clashing with police after the first night of British and American air strikes.

Organisers of the Friday protest from the pro-Taleban Jamiat-ulema-Islam say the army deployment is harassment and their plans for a protest will not change.

Security is also heavy around an air base in Jacobabad, one of two bases being used by American forces.

Barbed wire rings the air base and roads leading to it have been blocked.

"I have been stopped five times by soldiers," said one man. "You can't go anywhere near the airport."

'Quit'

In Peshawar, close to the Afghan border, the leader of Pakistan's largest Islamic party called for the resignation of President Musharraf.

"Musharraf has violated his constitutional limits and has no justification to stay in power," Qazi Hussain Ahmed of the Jamaat-i-Islami party said.

"He should resign immediately or else we will lay a siege on Islamabad," he said.

The BBC's Daniel Lak says the authorities are taking no chances, especially with President Musharraf's potentially controversial moves to sideline senior army officers linked to Islamist political movements and the Taleban.

-- Anonymous, October 12, 2001