Three killed in Pakistan protest over province name

ABBOTTABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) - Violent protests broke out in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad on Monday over the government's move to rename a province, killing at least three people and wounding nearly 100, hospital officials said.

Pakistan's National Assembly last week passed unanimously a set of constitutional reforms that include changing the name of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) to "Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa" to reflect the ethnic Pashtun group which dominates the region.

However, non-Pashtun communities, particularly Hindko-speaking groups in Abbottabad and nearby areas, oppose the new name and have been protesting over the past few days.

Renaming the province is highly unlikely to derail the reforms, mainly aimed at curbing sweeping powers of President Asif Ali Zardari.

Protesters turned violent in Abbottabad on Monday after police charged them with batons and fired tear gas. Witnesses said there had been exchanges of fire between police and demonstrators in several places.

"Two dead bodies were brought to the hospital while one of nearly 100 wounded being treated in hospital expired of his wounds," said doctor Rehmatullah Wazir.

"I could not confirm whether those who died had bullet wounds as there is absolute chaos inside and outside the hospital," Wazir said, as protesters set fire to a police van outside.

The constitutional package was prepared by a parliamentary committee, made up of ruling and opposition parties. The bill has yet to be passed by parliament's Senate upper house Senate and to be signed into law by Zardari. (Additional reporting and writing by Augustine Anthony; Editing by Ron Popeski)