Pakistani police on Sunday said they arrested hundreds of Islamic radicals attempting to join a protest at an airfield which Pakistan has agreed US forces can use for support operations in its campaign against Afghanistan.
A spokesman for the radical Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) party, which called the protest, said more than 2,000 people had been arrested trying to enter the city of Jacobabad, in southern Pakistan, where the airfield is located.
"The police are arresting anyone with a beard," the spokesman, Abdul Ghafoor, said.
Despite the crackdown, 4,000 militants had gathered in the city centre and were preparing for a march to the airport, Ghafoor said.
A source at the city's police control room said authorities had arrested at least 400 people by mid-morning and said the figure was likely to rise.
He said there had been several clashes on the outskirts of the city in which police had used baton charges to prevent would-be protestors from entering.
But the JUI spokesman played down suggestions that the intention was to storm the airport.
"We will be peaceful. We do not want to indulge in any violence," he said.
The airport at Jacobabad is one of two which Pakistan has agreed US forces can use to ensure they can mount rapid search and recovery operations for troops or pilots downed in Afghanistan.
Senior Pakistan government officials say the agreement is in line with Islamabad's offer to provide logistical support to US forces.
The government has repeatedly stressed that its bases will not be used to launch offensive action against its neighbour -- Pakistan, (AFP)
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