Pakistanis observe \'protest day\' against last week violence

Hundreds of thousands Pakistanis protested across the country on Friday against the last week's violence in garrison city of Rawalpindi that killed 11 people and injured couple of dozen others. Protesters took out rallies across the country in small and big cities including four provincial capitals and federal capital of Islamabad. Tension aroused after a group of people attacked a mosque and a religious school of Sunni Muslims and killed 11 people besides torching over 200 shops during a procession by Shiite Muslims to mark the most important mourning day of the holy month of Muharram on Nov. 15 in Rawalpindi, which neighbors capital Islamabad. To control the tensed situation, government imposed curfew in two different cities of the country and suspended mobile phone service in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The protesters that were holding banners and placards inscribed with catchphrases against the violence chanted slogans and demanded the government to take stern action against those who were involved in the attack. All educational institutes in the garrison city remained closed and security personnel were deployed at sensitive areas as rallies were taken out in favor of the protest. Traders associations and social organizations announced their support to a 'peaceful protest' while the army and paramilitary Rangers were deployed to 13 districts of the eastern Punjab province as part of security arrangements. Security was on high alert in all major cities including capital Islamabad as police setup checkpoints in several areas of the cities. Army was put on high alert while police and military troops held a joint flag march in major cities to warn the miscreants. Police used shipping containers to block the roads leading towards Red Zone in Islamabad that houses important government offices and foreign embassies. The Punjab province government deployed 10,000 police officials in eastern city of Lahore and announced to take stern action against those persons who violate law and order. The Regional Police Officer of Rawalpindi Umer Hayat Lalika said that police had identified 14 miscreants who were involved in the attack at mosque and would arrest them soon.