Blast near U S consulate in Karachi before Bush visit

KARACHI, March 2 (Reuters) A blast was heard and witnesses saw smoke rising in Karachi today from an area between the U S consulate and the Marriott Hotel, with U S President George W.Bush due to visit Pakistan in the next couple of days.

Islamist opposition parties have organised a national day of protest tomorrow against cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad published in Europe and deemed blasphemous.

REUTERS KD DS1803