Olympic torch kicks off Asian journey in Pakistan

The Olympic torch arrived in Pakistan early on Wednesday on the first leg of its relay in Asia amid security worries that led to a change of venue in the country's capital, Islamabad.

The torch, touring the world ahead of the Olympic Games in Beijing in August, arrived in a chartered plane from Muscat at a an airbase in the nearby city of Rawalpindi.

Officials said there were no specific threats to disrupt the Olympic flame's procession and they did not expect any anti-China protests, which have plagued the global torch relay elsewhere.

Demonstrators have targeted the relay over China's treatment of Tibetans during a recent crackdown after riots and protests in the Tibetan capital Lhasa and surrounding regions. China's policies on Sudan have also angered demonstrators.

'It's an honour for us and we're proud of it,' said the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) president Arif Hassan.

He said the event would help improve the image of the country, where Islamic militants have carried out scores of attacks.

"God willing once everything goes well. I think it'll send a clear message to the whole world that they'll be seeing the real face of Pakistan."

The POA had initially planned to hold the torch run along the capital's main boulevard in front of Parliament House but the event was shifted to a stadium because of security concerns and bad weather.

Paramilitary troops and police have been deployed in and around the stadium and along the relay route.

Pakistan has been struck by an unprecedented wave of suicide bomb attacks by al Qaeda-linked militants since an army assault on a radical mosque in Islamabad last July in which more than 100 people were killed.

Last month, a Turkish woman was killed and four U.S. FBI agents were wounded in a bomb attack on a restaurant in Islamabad.

But there have been no major attacks since a new government that has proposed talks with the militants took office this month.

President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani are expected to attend a formal ceremony later in the day for the torch relay at the stadium before it is taken to Mumbai, India.

China is a close ally of Pakistan and the major source of arms.

India has trimmed the route of its torch relay on Thursday fearing Tibetan protesters might try to disrupt the procession.