Army stays silent on govt call

Thousands more protesters massed in Pakistan's major cities yesterday after attempts to disperse an Islamist rally in Islamabad ended in deadly violence, with the military hesitant to respond to a government appeal for help.

Groups of chanting demonstrators, many armed with sticks, were arriving to occupy roads between Islamabad and neighbouring Rawalpindi, AFP reporters saw.

Thousands more were on the streets than when police and paramilitaries began a bungled operation to clear them one day earlier.

At least 4,750 were in Pakistan's biggest city Karachi, according to traffic officials, up from roughly 200 the day before. In the cultural capital Lahore an estimated 3,400 were occupying main roads.

Reports said the protests had also spread to other cities and towns across the country.

The numbers are still relatively small by Pakistani standards but have grown swiftly. The situation has become more charged since authorities moved to clear the roughly 2,000 people who have blocked a major highway in Islamabad since November 6, paralysing the capital for weeks.

They were met with stubborn resistance by protesters who torched vehicles and threw stones. At least seven people were killed and around 230 injured before security forces retreated on Saturday.

An interior ministry order said the federal government had authorised the deployment of "sufficient troops" to "control law and order" in the capital until further notice.

But more than 18 hours after the order was released there was no official military response and no sign of armoured vehicles or soldiers on the streets. A military spokesman declined repeated requests for comment.

The little-known Islamist group at the centre of the protests, Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah Pakistan (TLY), is demanding the resignation of Pakistan's law minister Zahid Hamid over a hastily-abandoned amendment to the oath which election candidates must swear.

Demonstrators have linked the issue to blasphemy -- a highly contentious matter in Pakistan that has fuelled violence many times before.

State schools and universities across Punjab province, Pakistan's most populous, would stay closed on Monday and Tuesday, Lahore's top education officer said, while universities in Karachi also announced closures.