At least three people were killed today when Pakistani police opened fire on pro-Taliban protesters in a crackdown on a general strike called by Islamic parties against the US-led attacks on Afghanistan.
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Pakistni men protest against President Pervez Musharraf's support of the US raids on the Taliban
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The strike, which shut down most bazaars but attracted only small crowds, was called by the 35-party Afghanistan Defence Council in protest against Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's support of the US raids on the Taliban and their guest Osama bin Laden, prime suspect in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
The police said they baton-charged and lobbed tear gas at more than 1,000 protesters blocking a train at Shadan Lund railway station, 150 km (90 miles) from the central Punjab city of Multan, before opening fire.
Dr Khalil ur Rehman Lund at the Rural Health Centre in Shadan Lund said three people died of bullet wounds and four were wounded.
But at a news conference in Islamabad, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, secretary-general of the pro-Taliban Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI) party, named four people he said had been killed by police.
The JUI said its members had taken four police hostage near Shadan Lund and would hold them until action was taken against the senior police officers responsible for the shooting.
"Yes, we have four policemen," Mohammad Riaz Durrani, the JUI's central secretary for information, said.
He said the policemen would not be harmed. There was no immediate comment from police on the report.
Police at Shadan Lund said they had detained 22 protesters.