Police with rifles and tear gas launchers are guarding the US consulate in the Pakistani city of Karachi ahead of protests against the bombing of Afghanistan planned by Islamic groups after Muslim prayers today.
Islamic groups said two protests were planned, one by the radical Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam and the other by the right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami.
"The whole world knows, and not only us, but other countries including the United Nations, are against continuous bombardment of Afghanistan," Ghafoor Ahmed, deputy leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, said.
The Pakistan-Afghanistan Defense Council, a coalition of 35 Islamic groups, has given the government a deadline of November 7th to end support for Washington, and threatened a national strike on November 9th plus a campaign of civil disobedience
Some clerics have urged Muslims in Friday sermons to demonstrate against Pakistan's support for the S raids on Afghanistan.
Osama bin Laden urged Pakistani Muslims yesterday to oppose what he called a "Christian crusade against Islam", Qatar's al-Jazeera television reported.
Bin Laden accused Pakistan of standing beneath the Christian banner. Masked gunmen killed 15 Christians and a guard in an attack on a church in central Pakistan last Sunday, shouting that Pakistan and Afghanistan would be graveyards for Christians.
Karachi's Catholic archbishop, Dr Simeon Pereira, said police were guarding 25 churches in the city since the attack.