General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's pro-US military ruler, faces nationwide eruptions of anger towards the US after at least 18 people were killed by missiles reportedly fired by a CIA-operated drone near the Afghan border.

Yesterday, at least 10,000 protesters from liberal and Islamic political groups, in a rare gesture of solidarity, joined an anti-US protest in Karachi, the southern port city, while smaller protests were reported across Pakistan, fuelling fears of a new wave of anti-US sentiment in the south Asian country.