Pakistan was bracing for a violent backlash over the...

Pakistan was bracing for a violent backlash over the conviction of four men for the murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl, after police received tip-offs that militants were plotting retaliation.
Security, already tight across Punjab in anticipation of the verdict being announced in Hyderabad in the case involving the murder of Daniel Pearl, was heightened across the country as the death sentence for Pearl's killer Omar Sheikh was announced.
Minutes after the news of the court judgment, finding Sheikh guilty, came in, police and paramilitary troops including Rangers began patrolling the streets in Lahore, Faislabad, Multan and other cities.
The action was taken amid reports that militants linked to religious parties could try and carry out acts of terrorism to protest the death sentence awarded to Sheikh.
Intelligence agencies have been warning for a week that "problems" could erupt after the verdict, with the government having already acknowledged that security "would be tightened to avert any incident."
The Punjab police however concede that the "threat we face remains very real" and that security will "remain tight" for some days.
The newly-formed militant outfit, the Lashkar-e-Omar, said to be named after Omar Sheikh, has already stated it will "protest any attempt to harm him," and authorities remain especially anxious about any attempted strike by this group of hard-core militants.