In Pakistan, thousands of people took to the streets today (Friday) to protest Islamabad's support for Washington in possible military action against Afghanistan. Reports say four demonstrators were killed in Karachi in clashes with police.
Protesters -- mostly members of the hard-line (group) Jamiat-Ulema-i-Islami -- turned out in large numbers in the cities of Peshawar, Quetta, Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. Several smaller Islamic groups also joined the demonstrations. They burned U-S flags and effigies of President Bush.
The largest gathering was in Peshawar, near the Afghan border, where about 10-thousand people marched through the center of the city, chanting slogans against the U-S and Pakistani governments. The crowd gathered near the (northwestern) city's main mosque, where religious leaders made speeches in support of the alleged terrorist Osama bin Laden
Authorities say some of the demonstrations were smaller than expected.