Police have baton-charged a rally by Pakistani lawyers protesting outside the High Court in Karachi against the state of emergency, lawyers say.

They made many arrests after breaking up the demonstration, news agencies were told by members of the judiciary.

Reports say hundreds of members of the main Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami, were arrested overnight in the regions.

President Pervez Musharraf declared the emergency on Saturday, saying he was acting to curb “extremism”.

The Supreme Court had been due to decide on the legality of General Musharraf's re-election last month.

"Police beat lawyers with batons as they came to the High Court in the morning," Akhtar Hussain, a former president of the Sindh High Court Bar Association, told Reuters news agency.

"Many of them have been arrested."

Senior lawyer Akhtar Hussain told the AFP news agency that police had detained "some 50 lawyers" and "whisked them away in waiting vans".

Police also "mercilessly beat" half a dozen lawyers who were chanting anti-government slogans at a court in the city of Rawalpindi, lawyer Mudassir Saeed told AFP, in an unconfirmed report.

Lawyers had called for a nationwide strike as well as public protests on Monday but the BBC's Barbara Plett reports from Islamabad that there has been very little activity on the streets.

Concern abroad

The US has said it will review its multi-billion dollar aid package to Pakistan in the light of the state of emergency.

The UK, another major donor, says it is examining whether the emergency will affect its aid to Pakistan.

Islamabad has suggested parliamentary polls scheduled for January could be delayed by up to a year.

As well as hundreds of arrests of opponents of the government, rights have been suspended and media restricted.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the emergency would last for "as long as is necessary".