Anti-war sentiment has been running high in Muslim Pakistan, despite the goverment's close allegiance to the United States in the international fight against terrorism.

Protests across the length and breadth of the country were marked by emphatic calls for boycotts of US and British products, and the franchise chains of popular American fast food outlets such as Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonalds and Pizza Hut.

"Our struggle is political and we will continue it until the British and US multinationals close their business in Pakistan," said Farooq Tariq, leader of a Peace Committee formed to oppose the Iraq war.

"The franchise money paid by food outlets and beverage manufacturers for using brand names goes to the war budget of the United States. This is unacceptable," Tariq told AFP.

The Peace Committee, made up of 23 small social, political and labour bodies, has organised small demonstrations outside food outlets to keep customers away.

However, the main attack came from the six-party Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) religious alliance, whose so-called "million man marches" attracted crowds of up to 250,000 people.

The MMA leaders told emotional rallies that each bottle of Coca Cola paid for one bullet to kill an Iraqi. Their rhetoric appears to have had some effect.

Middle-aged businessman Ziaullah Khan said he used to visit a KFC outlet in nearby Rawalpindi twice and some times three times a week, but stopped with the outbreak of war in Iraq.

"There were fears of some sort of terrorist attack and I didn't want to expose my family to any risks," he said.

Market sources said several businesses had taken advantage of the anti-US and British sentiment, with a French beverage company recently introducing Mecca Cola, apparently named after the holiest Muslim shrine in Saudi Arabia, while a domestic company plans to launch a soft drink called Muslim-Up.

But business sources said the response to calls for a boycott of US and British products had been only marginal.

One Pakistani executive at KFC in the southern commercial hub of Karachi, the biggest Pakistani city with a population of around 12 million, said there was a drop in sales but not to any "disturbing level."

"I would say the sales dropped marginally, maybe five percent in the past four weeks but I would not attribute it to the calls for a boycott," KFC managing director Rafiq Rangoonwala told AFP.

"And you know, there is an economic recession also."

But business sources say British and US firms have continued to dominate the consumer market, with products ranging from sweets and soups to shampoos and popular tea brands, in addition to iconic brands such as Coca Cola and Pepsi, remaining popular.

Figures for overall business turnover were not readily available, but Mansoor Mani, an executive of a leading advertising agency, said British and US firms still rule the market.

A Pepsi official here meanwhile said the protest was unjustified.

"What if Americans and the British decided to boycott our products ... Can we then survive?" he asked.

"I think we should follow the policy of live and let live."

KFC's Rangoonwala said the boycott call was a "nonsense".

"There is no truth in the propaganda that money earned by the outlets is taken abroad. No money is repatriated to United States."

SPACE.WIRE