A massive protest against US officials in Pakistan

In a massive protest, hard-line Islamic leaders have warned the Pakistani government against caving to US pressure and releasing an American official arrested in the shooting deaths of two Pakistanis.

The party chiefs of Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamiat Ulema Islam spoke alongside other hard-liners on Sunday at a rally of at least 15,000 people in the eastern city of Lahore, where the shootings took place. Many protesters called for the American official to be hanged.

The US has said the American acted in self-defence when he shot two armed men who tried to rob him Thursday. The embassy has said he has diplomatic immunity and has accused Pakistan of illegally detaining him.

The Pakistani government has refused to release him and says the courts should decide his fate.