11 injured when Pakistani authorities fire on crowd

Associated Press WriterISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Paramilitary troops opened fire Thursday on a crowd that stormed a Pakistani jail, hoping to free pro-Taliban activists, authorities said. Eleven people were wounded, three critically.

Soldiers anticipating a national strike that militant Islamic leaders have set for Friday, the Muslim holy day, also began patrolling the streets of another restive Pakistan city, Quetta, after days of protests there.

In the Bajur border area of southwestern Pakistan, near the Afghan border, protesters pelted police with stones and made several attempts to free their supporters from jail, clashing with security forces for two hours before authorities began firing weapons, police said.

Jan Mohammad, an Islamic leader who led a rally in the Bajur area earlier in the day, said police fired on a peaceful rally with no provocation. The jailed activists, arrested during previous demonstrations, were not freed.

During the earlier demonstration Thursday, thousands of Islamic activists vowed a holy war against Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf if he permits U.S. troops to use the country's soil for attacks on Afghanistan.

"By supporting non-Muslims against an Islamic state, Musharraf has committed a heinous crime and sin, and he should apologize for it," said Haroon-ur-Rashid, leader of a radical Islamic party.

Pakistan confirmed Thursday that U.S. military personnel had begun to arrive in the country and would be allowed to use several airbases, though government spokesman Anwar Mehmood said the personnel would not use Pakistani territory for launching attacks on Afghanistan.

Some Pakistanis are enraged at Musharraf's decision to support the United States' campaign against Afghanistan's hardline Islamic Taliban rulers and Osama bin Laden -- the top suspect in the Sept. 11 terror attacks, who is sheltered by the Taliban.

In the southwestern city of Quetta, site of some of the most violent protests since U.S. military strikes on Afghanistan began Sunday, soldiers began patrolling in machine-gun mounted vehicles in anticipation of the mass protests planned by the Afghan Defense Council, an alliance of 35 Islamic and militant groups.

But Foreign Ministry spokesman Aziz Khan said the government did not expect nationwide protests. The loudest demonstrators, he said, don't reflect the opinions of most Pakistanis. "We're not worried," Khan said.

Leaders of some Islamic parties have encouraged the anger and exhorted followers to wage holy war against the United States.

In the Pakistani city of Peshawar, near the Afghan border, an Afghan refugee was injured when the grenade he planned to throw at Western journalists went off during a scuffle with police, officials said Thursday. The refugee, Shafi Ullah, told police that he wanted to kill the journalists because he had been told his wife and children died in the American bombing of Kabul, according to the officials.

"I got mad," Ullah told authorities in a confession, a copy of which was read to reporters. "I decided to take my revenge on America and kill foreign journalists."

Police said Ullah, a rickshaw driver, bought a grenade for about $3 and went Tuesday to a police checkpoint on the Jamrud road on the outskirts of the city, where journalists frequently pass en route to the border or Afghan refugee camps, police said. There, police approached him for a spot security check and during an ensuing scuffle, the grenade exploded, police added.

Police did not know whether the man's family had actually been killed in the attacks, which the Taliban say have killed scores of civilians. There has been no independent confirmation, though refugees arriving at the Pakistan border have reported deaths as well.