ISLAMABAD (AP) — The U.S. Embassy in Pakistan is using TV ads to try to calm the anger being aimed against the United States as a result of an anti-Islam video.
The ads feature clips of President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton denouncing the video at recent press conferences. The State Department says the embassy is running the ads because it determined that Obama and Clinton's comments were not reaching enough of the Pakistani public through regular news reporting.
Pakistan is the only country where the ads are running.
Despite the effort to quell the unrest over the video, protesters clashed with security officials in Pakistan's capital today as a crowd of more than 2,000 people tried unsuccessfully to reach the U.S. Embassy. Riot police used tear gas and batons to keep them away.
There were demonstrations in other Pakistani cities today, but protests have tapered off in many other countries.
The State Department today is warning U.S. citizens to put off any non-essential travel to Pakistan until further notice.
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171-r-12-(Sound of police using tear gas during an anti-Islam film protest, in Pakistan's most populous city)--Sound of police using tear gas to try to keep angry demonstrators away from a restricted enclave that houses government offices and embassies, during a protest against the anti-Islam film that's sparked international outrage. (20 Sep 2012)
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172-r-18-(Sound of angry anti-Islam film demonstrators in Karachi, Pakistan, during protest)--Sound of angry demonstrators in Karachi, Pakistan, during a protest against the anti-Islam film that's sparked international outrage. (20 Sep 2012)
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159-r-13-(Sound of a student demonstration against an anti-Islam film in the nation's largest city, Karachi)--Sound of Pakistani college students chanting anti-U.S. slogans at a protest in Karachi. The students also burned the U.S. and Israeli flags. (20 Sep 2012)
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APPHOTO ISL101: Pakistani protesters burn a representation of a U.S. flag and an effigy of U.S. President Barack Obama in the Pakistani border town of Chaman along the Afghanistan border on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. Hundreds of Pakistanis angry at an anti-Islam film that denigrates the religion's prophet clashed with police in the Pakistani capital Thursday, the most violent show of anger in a day that saw smaller demonstrations in Indonesia, Iran and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Matiullah Achakzai) (20 Sep 2012)
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APPHOTO XMM105: A Pakistani protester reacts to tear gas fired by police, during clashes erupted as protestors tried to approach the U.S. embassy, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. Hundreds of Pakistanis angry at an anti-Islam film that denigrates the religion's prophet clashed with police in the Pakistani capital Thursday, the most violent show of anger in a day that saw smaller demonstrations in Indonesia, Iran and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen) (20 Sep 2012)
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APPHOTO XMM102: A Pakistani protester hurls a stone at police, not pictured, during clashes that erupted as protestors tried to approach the U.S. embassy, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. Hundreds of Pakistanis angry at an anti-Islam film that denigrates the religion's prophet clashed with police in the Pakistani capital Thursday, the most violent show of anger in a day that saw smaller demonstrations in Indonesia, Iran and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen) (20 Sep 2012)
<<APPHOTO XMM102 (09/20/12)>>
APPHOTO BKB107: Pakistani protesters rally near containers police had placed to block the road leads to the diplomatic enclave in Islamabad, Pakistan on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. Hundreds of Pakistanis angry at an anti-Islam film that denigrates the religion's prophet clashed with police in the Pakistani capital Thursday, the most violent show of anger in a day that saw smaller demonstrations in Indonesia, Iran and Afghanistan. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash) (20 Sep 2012)
<<APPHOTO BKB107 (09/20/12)>>
