The Olympic torch relay made its way through the Pakistani capital of Islamabad Wednesday in a scaled-back ceremony that was inaccessible to the general public.
The original plan was to have the torch relay along a three-kilometre stretch of the city's main boulevard.
Instead, athletes carried the Olympic flame around the grounds of Jinnah Stadium -- the city's main sports complex.
Thousands of Pakistani police stood guard as soldiers with dogs checked vehicles.
Only guests with invitation cards issued by the Pakistan Olympic Association were allowed into the stadium.
President Pervez Musharraf, who just returned from a six-day state visit to China, presented the Olympic flame to the first runner before joining a group of school children in the stands.
"I would like the people of China who are our closest friends to know that we stand with you and support you in this glorious event you host for the entire world," Musharraf said in an address.
Pakistan's government is pro-China and the two countries have strong defence and economic links.
Protests against China's human rights record have already disrupted the relay during stops in several Western cities.
An army official who helped organize the event told The Associated Press that the route was changed because of the "overall security environment" and the risk of bad weather. A violent hailstorm did hit Islamabad Tuesday but the weather was fine Wednesday.
The torch's most recent stops in Kazakhstan, Russia, Argentina, Tanzania and Oman have been trouble-free.
Protests in India
On Thursday, the torch will be transported to India -- home to more than 100,000 Tibetan exiles.
In anticipation, Tibetan protesters rallied outside of the Chinese embassy in New Delhi Wednesday.
"A couple of weeks ago they were able to breach the fence of the embassy and ever since then there's just been a huge amount of Indian security around it," CTV's South Asian Bureau Chief Paul Workman reported from the region on Wednesday.
"The protesters once again this morning went, in smaller numbers, to try and make their point."
In response, police arrested about two dozen protesters, taking them away in vans.
Another 50 were forced back onto the buses in which they had arrived. However, it was unclear if they were being arrested or detained.
"We managed to catch and detain most of them," Anup Kalia, a police officer, told Reuters.
Workman said several thousand people could show up Thursday to protest.
"India has warned the Tibetans not to do things that are politically damaging or politically dangerous," he said.
"It's a very difficult position for the Tibetans to be in and there are many young Tibetans who feel that this is the time to protest."
India has reportedly shortened the route of Thursday's relay.
Meanwhile, Australian officials are preparing heavy security measures for the torch relay, which makes its stopover in Canberra next week.
With files from The Associated Press
