Protests erupt in Pakistan over US air strike

January 15, 2006

Many Pakistanis took to the streets Saturday to demonstrate against the U.S. air strike of a village on the border of Afghanistan. The main demonstration took place in the city of Karachi, where protestors shouted "Death to American Aggression" and "Stop bombing innocent people", a BBC report claims. Riot police were deployed to keep order.

A rally also took place in the town of Samarbagh, where over 600 people came out to protest, according to the Aljazeera news network. Speaking at the rally, Aizaz-ul Mulk Afkari, a leader from the Hezb-ul Mujahidin group, is reported to have claimed that Washington was targeting Pakistan because of its nuclear weapons.

The previous day, around 8000 tribesmen are reported to have staged a rally in the town of Inayat Qala. The US has not yet commented on the attack.