Some 500 people including lawyers, labourers, women, students of Islamic seminaries and religious scholars at a rally in the eastern city of Lahore torched the effigies of US president George W.Bush and British prime minister Tony Blair.

The marchers carried banners calling "Bush and Blair: enemies of Islam," "Stop bloodshed for oil" and "Stop attacks on the land of prophets."

Placards carried by the protesters also called on the international community to ensure safety of holy Muslim shrines in Iraq.

Hundreds more at a rally earlier in the day vowed they would not allow desecration of sacred places in Iraq.

Protest demonstrations continued on the 18th day running in the central city of Multan also where some 500 people paraded the main streets chanting slogans against the coalition forces.

Condemning the invasion of Iraq they torched US flag.

The demonstration in Multan was staged two days after a rally on Friday attended by more than 30,000 protesters.

Friday's rally was organised by the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), an alliance of major Islamic parties, which has staged several massive anti-war protests across the country.

The alliance has planned another anti-war demonstration in the southern port city of Karachi later in the evening while a separate rally by Shiite organisations was to hold another protest in Karachi.

They rally will call for safety of the places sacred for the Muslim community in Iraq, organisers said.

MMA supporters in the northwestern tribal town of Batkhela blocked traffic for more than half an hour and chanted slogans against the United States and Britain, before dispersing peacefully.

Anti-war protests have been staged in Pakistan daily since the war started on March 20.

The MMA, which emerged a powerful bloc in October 2002 elections, rules the country's deeply religious North West Frontier Province and shares power in southwestern Baluchistan province.

The alliance last week staged a rally in the northwestern city of Peshawar, attracted more than 250,000 people.

Pakistan, a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a key US ally in the 18-month old war on terrorism, has "deplored" the attacks on Iraq.

strs-sz/hw

SPACE.WIRE