Tens of thousands of Pakistani Islamists wielding sticks and waving green flags rallied in Karachi against cartoons of Prophet Muhammad today.
A crowd of up to 50,000 rallied in the main commercial district of the sprawling southern city, and some set alight effigies of President Bush and Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
The crowd dispersed peacefully at the end, in contrast to the violence seen in Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar earlier this week. Five people have died in the latest wave of protests.
A branch of US-based Citibank and an office of the German company Siemens hung black flags to mask their logos, as did a Christian hospital and several cinemas on the rally's route.
Urging participants to stay peaceful, Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman, a leader of the rally, called on Pakistan to sever ties with European countries where cartoons were published.
A senior security official in Peshawar said around 350 people were arrested after yesterday's rioting. He said members of the Jamaat-i-Islami, the country's most influential Islamist party, along with its student and youth wings were involved, as well as sectarian and other militants.
Demonstrations have been held almost every day this month in Pakistan since European papers republished the cartoons
At least three people, including an eight-year-old-boy, were killed in violent protests yesterday; two died a day earlier. Police have detained some 200 people in Lahore over the past 24 hours following violence in the city.