Three people died yesterday as hardline Islamic militants staged further violent rallies in Pakistan cities to protest against US strikes on Taliban targets in neighboring Afghanistan.
Police clashed with protesters yesterday when more than 100 people tried to enter Quetta but were blocked by police, Baluchistan provincial Home Secretary Azmat Hanis Orakzai said.
Aggravated by the sight of US or British jets flying high overhead -- apparently on their way to attack targets near the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar some 180km to the northwest -- the demonstrators torched a police station.
Police said they shot dead two people when hardline militants attempted to raze a police station in Kuchlak town, north of Quetta, and a child died later in hospital.
The crowd then burned an effigy of exiled Afghan king Mohammad Zahir Shah -- touted as potential head of government to replace the Taliban -- before looting and razing a post office.
At least four people have been confirmed dead and some 28 injured in clashes that erupted Monday but police sources said they feared the casualty figures could be much higher.
Police said 37 people were arrested in yesterday's violence, adding to the more than 200 detained Monday when at least one person died in the worst violence since Pakistan offered its "full cooperation" with the US.
"In an Islamic society, there is no room for extremism and violence against any other religion or group," Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf said yesterday in response to the violence. He said support of his government now is part of "supreme national interests."
Up to 15,000 radical students and members of Islamic groups burnt down cinemas, a police and fire station, a shopping plaza and a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) building on Monday.
Plumes of tear gas mixed with smoke from burning buildings and the sound of automatic weapons lent the city the air of a war zone. The violence has since ebbed but sporadic gunfire could still be heard across Quetta.
The Quetta protests were spearheaded by the hardline Jamiat-Ulema-Islami (JUI) party, whose leaders promised a sustained campaign in support of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban and alleged terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.
Pakistani police cracked down on the party late Monday, placing two prominent leaders under house arrest in a bid to stop further demonstrations.
"I have been told to remain inside the premises of my house for three months. My house is surrounded by police," JUI faction chief Zazlur Rehman said.
"They say I was trying to disrupt law and order and create a disturbance in the country but my detention will make no difference to our fight against US and British terrorism. We will continue our struggle."
Police said further rallies were expected last night following meetings of the JUI. However these were not expected to peak until Friday.
The JUI and the Defence Council for Pakistan and Afghanistan -- which represents some 700 religious parties in Pakistan -- have urged supporters to descend on Quetta for a mass rally on Oct. 12.
More than 10,000 protesters also rallied at the border town of Chaman, 100km northwest of Quetta, which straddles the vital road link between Pakistan and the Taliban southern stronghold of Kandahar.
In the Pakistan capital of Islamabad, another 1,500 students armed with canes and shouting anti-US slogans marched towards the American Centre, which was cordoned off by a heavy police presence.
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