MOSCOW, September 15 (RIA Novosti) - The Pakistani opposition has halted negotiations with the government over arrests of anti-government protesters in the capital of Islamabad, The Associated Press reported.
"We are suspending talks with the government over these arrests," party leader Jahanghir Tareen was quoted by AP as saying Saturday.
The protesters said it was part of the government's plans to quash weeks-long sit-ins to which the government responded by saying it had arrested those suspected of attacking the state-run television channel's headquarters, AP reported.
Imran Khan, a former cricketer and the now Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party leader fighting for the incumbent government's resignation, told AP that large numbers of protesters were detained.
According to AP, Islamabad police have also detained supporters of anti-government cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri of the Minhaj-ul-Quran religious movement, who is running parallel demonstrations.
Dissatisfaction with the government is compounded by high unemployment rates and daily electricity outages.
