Pakistan shop keepers' strike

Shopkeepers across Pakistan are on strike in protest against plans by the military authorities to impose a general sales tax.

Reports from the major cities suggest that most shops have closed.

It coincides with a strike called by religious groups, demanding the implementation of Islamic law.

They have gone ahead with their action, even though the government withdrew plans for changes to Pakistan's blasphemy law, because they said other demands had not been met.

In Karachi, troops have been deployed on the streets after the killing on Thursday of a well known Sunni cleric, Mullah Ludhianvi, was followed by violence. On Thursday night, a building housing a bank and newspaper office was burned down, and two people died in the blaze.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service