Pakistan government opens talks with protesters

Tens of thousands of Pakistanis stage a mass protest in the capital, calling on the government to step down.

Leading the demonstration is this man - cleric Muhammad Tahirul Qadri who gave the country's rulers a deadline of Thursday morning to open negotiations.

His demand was accepted, with one of the cleric's spokesmen saying a 10-member delegation was holding talks with the government.

Qadri is calling for the immediate resignation of the government and the installation of a caretaker administration is the run up to elections due within months.

The cleric - whose supporters have been camped out near parliament since Monday - had warned of an escalation if the government did not meet his demands for talks.