Islamabad, Nov 22 (IANS): People across Pakistan Friday protested against last week's violence in Rawalpindi that claimed 11 lives and left many injured.

Protesters took out rallies in small and big cities, including four provincial capitals and the federal capital Islamabad, Xinhua reported.

Tension heightened after a group of people attacked a mosque and a religious school of Sunni Muslims and killed 11 people besides torching over 200 shops during a procession by Shia Muslims to mark the most important mourning day of the holy month of Muharram Nov 15 in Rawalpindi.

The government imposed curfew in two different cities of the country and suspended mobile phone services in Rawalpindi and Islamabad to control the situation.

The protesters demanded that the government take stern action against those who were involved in the attack.

All educational institutions in Rawalpindi remained closed and security personnel were deployed in sensitive areas as rallies were taken out.

Security was on a high in all major cities, including Islamabad, where police used shipping containers to block the roads leading towards Red Zone in the city that houses important government offices and foreign embassies.

The army was put on high alert while police and military personnel held a joint flag march in major cities as a warning to miscreants.