Pakistanis rally for Musharraf

Students and government workers made up the crowds

Demonstrations have been held around Pakistan in support of the government's backing for the American-led campaign against terrorism.

The rallies were largely attended by government workers and students.

Nobody likes extremism. We want to live in peace

Businesswoman, Amna Asgahar

The Pakistani authorities have become increasingly concerned about the small, but noisy protests organised by religious hardliners.

In particular, they are frustrated by the daily images of religious hardliners shouting slogans against America, and Pakistan's backing for its war on terrorism.

Correspondents say Thursday's solidarity day was meant to be their answer.

Unity rallies

There were demonstrations in several cities, mostly organised by local councils, and attended by government officials and supporters.

In Islamabad, there were separate rallies for women and for students.

"Today, our priority should be unity because the country faces a grave crisis," Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar told a crowd of students, activists and political party representatives.

Images such as these have frustrated Pakistani officials

"We are with the rest of the Islamic world and the international community in the fight against terrorism," he said.

A few hundred local traders turned out in one area of the capital, waving Pakistani flags and holding banners in English and Urdu.

One of them read 'unity is the motorway of the nation'.

"People are happy with President Musharraf's decisions," a businesswoman, Amna Asgahar, told the Associated Press.

"Nobody likes extremism. We want to live in peace."

Militant support

Rallies were also held in Lahore and in Peshawar, near the Afghan border.

"Some people are using emotional slogans to divide the nation," local governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah said.

Religious leaders who have been organising the anti-government rallies see Osama bin Laden as a hero, and believe Pakistan has sold out its old ally, the Taleban.

Pakistan's president, General Pervez Musharraf, estimates their support at 10-15%.

Observers agree that the opposition do not have wide-spread public backing.

But the BBC's Susannah Price in Islamabad says Thursday's rallies were certainly not the ringing endorsement that the government had been hoping for.