Key Pakistani Islamist party begins sit-in to protest increase in electricity bills

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani officials say hundreds of supporters of a key Islamist party have started a sit-in protest in the garrison city of Rawalpindi after authorities detained several people to stop them from holding a rally in the neighboring capital, citing security reasons. The Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan party originally issued a call for holding the sit-in near the parliament building to pressure the government to withdraw a substantial increase in the electricity bills. The recent increase has drawn nationwide criticism. On Friday night, the head of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan said police arrested a large number of the party’s supporters to prevent them from staging the sit-in in Islamabad.