DERA ALLAH YAR: The lawyers challenging the government will step up their cross-country protest campaign despite beatings and arrests by the police, the President of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Ali Ahmed Kurd said on Friday. "The way our lawyers were beaten up and arrested, we've decided that we need to intensify our struggle," Kurd told reporters here.

Black-suited lawyers and flag-waving opposition activists launched the long march protest in the cities of Karachi and Quetta on Thursday, despite a ban on rallies and the detention of hundreds of activists.

Baton-wielding police clashed with protesters in Karachi and arrested several of their leaders as they tried to stop a convoy of cars and buses leaving the city.

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