Pakistan party begins sit-in protest against power bills

ISLAMABAD — Hundreds of supporters of a key Islamist party in Pakistan began a sit-in protest in the garrison city of Rawalpindi late on Friday after authorities detained dozens to prevent them from holding the rally in Pakistan's neighboring capital, citing security reasons, officials said.

The Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan party originally issued a call for holding the sit-in near the parliament building in the capital Islamabad to pressure the government to withdraw a substantial increase in electricity costs, which has drawn nationwide criticism. People complain they are getting electricity bills even higher than their salaries.