Protests grow in Pakistan

Rioters took to the streets in several cities in Pakistan to protest at the US-British air strikes on neighbouring Aghanistan.

One protester was killed by a stray bullet and 26 others injured as police clashed with demonstrators in Quetta in the south-west of the country.

A compound in the city housing United Nations offices was attacked and set on fire

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the U.N. children's agency, UNICEF, both have offices in the compound that was attacked, near the Quetta airport. The UNHCR office was stoned and the UNICEF office was torched, spokesmen for both agencies said.

"Our office was set on fire, but all our staff are safe," said Gordon Weiss, a UNICEF spokesman.

The mob hurled stones at the UNHCR office, which had three staff members inside at the time, but were not able to break in, said UNHCR spokesman Rupert Colville.

Some of Pakistan's most influential clerics swiftly denounced US strikes on Afghanistan, calling them an attack against Islam and grounds for holy war. One organization summoned Muslims to "extend full support to their Afghan brothers."

Pakistan's government, which has thrown its support to the US-led coalition against terrorism, said it regretted that diplomatic efforts did not succeed and called for the US action to remain "clearly targeted." In Chaman, vehicles carrying Pakistani soldiers could be seen heading for the Afghan border.

The influential and Taliban-sympathetic Afghan Defence Council, based in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, issued a call for "jihad," or holy war. The council comprises more than 30 religious and militant groups.

"It is the duty of every Muslim to support their brothers in this critical hour," central leader Riaz Durana said. "We will support the Taliban physically and morally against the aggression of America."

Munawar Hassan, deputy chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan's most powerful religious political party, called the strikes on the capital, Kabul, "an attack against Islam."

"Americans have used their might to kill innocent people in Afghanistan instead of targeting training camps about which they were ... making a hue and cry," said Amar Mehdi, spokesman for the group, which advocates the independence of Indian-ruled Kashmir.

Haraka ul-Mujahedeen is among the organizations whose assets were frozen by the United States, Pakistan and other countries as part of a campaign against movements linked to Saudi exile Osama bin Laden. He is considered the top suspect in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Rashid Quereshi, a Pakistan government spokesman, said Pakistan's airspace was used by US and British forces to launch attacks - one of the concessions granted by as part of its support for the anti-terrorism coalition.

Pakistan's foreign office, in a statement released through the Associated Press of Pakistan, implored the United States to take "every care" to minimize harm to Afghans buffeted by years of war."We also hope that the operations will end soon and a concerted international effort will be undertaken to promote national reconciliation and help Afghanistan with economic reconstruction," the statement said.

Pakistan shares a border of more than 1,050 miles with Afghanistan. Languages, ethnicities and even family ties overlap, and many Pakistanis, even those with no sympathy for the ruling Taliban militia, are reluctant to see Afghanistan attacked.In downtown Peshawar, a northwestern city near the Afghan border, knots of angry men gathered, shouting "Osama! Osama!" and "America is a terrorist." Some held crackling radios to their ears and called out news updates.

"It is terrorism against terrorism, and that will solve nothing," said Amin Shinwari.Police watched and dispersed only crowds that grew beyond several dozen. Several restaurants reopened to serve kebabs and tea.

In Lahore, an organization of Muslim clerics was in special session to discuss the Afghanistan crisis when word of the action arrived. Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith Pakistan issued a condemnation and said Americans now face a "highly critical situation" in the Muslim world.

Some of the hundreds of clerics in attendance were "shocked and in tears," the group said."We appeal to all Muslims living anywhere in the world to extend full support to their Afghan brothers in this critical time," said Sazid Mir, the organization's president and a prominent religious leader.

Official Pakistani radio broadcast news of the attacks with no editorial comment in its regular hourly bulletin, followed by a scheduled sports roundup. Pakistani state television reported the news, then went to a special panel discussion.