Islamabad, Sep 26 : The Pakistan Government has defended the arrests of opposition activists opposing the re-election of President Pervez Musharraf in the wake of an unusually harsh statement by the US over the developments.

The US embassy in Pakistan on Monday said that the arrest of opposition leaders as "extremely disturbing and confusing for the "friends of Pakistan", and urged the Musharraf regime to free the detained men.

State Minister for Information Tariq Azeem, however, said that the arrested activists were threatening key institutions and had been taken into "protective custody."

"The US normally understands our internal situation better than others because it is a very close ally. I am sure it realises that a democratic society needs the rule of law and not rule by mob," Azeem said.

Earlier, in order to prevent the Opposition parties from staging protest rallies against Musharraf, the Pakistan Police had arrested 35 leaders of the All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) on the charges of disrupting public order.

This step came in the wake of calls made by opposition parties that they would do their best to stop Musharraf getting himself re-elected as the President, the Daily Times reported.

The move was in response to the threat to escalate the confrontation with the government and disrupt the election, confirmed an intelligence official. (With inputs from ANI)