The government has been under fire from the opposition and nationalists since last week when a group of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels, coming in from neighbouring Iraq, were set free shortly after their symbolic surrender and greeted by Kurdish demonstrators chanting pro-PKK slogans.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted at the weekend as saying that the festivities had let to a "crisis of confidence" and that the return of a second group of rebels, expected this week, had been postponed.

In an interview with the NTV news channel, Arinc explained that the government was taking a break to assess the situation as it pursued its plans for expanding Kurdish rights and ending the PKK threat.

"The return of PKK rebels is very important in this process...The returns will continue but they will not happen like last week," Arinc said.

The deputy prime minister said he expected more rebels to come back to Turkey in November, but added he did not have a firm date.

The PKK, which has rear bases in Iraq, took up arms for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast. The conflict has claimed around 45,000 lives.

Earlier this year, the government announced that it was working on a raft of reforms expected to give greater freedoms to the country's 12 million Kurds, but it is yet to announce details.

Arinc said the government was planning to brief parliament on the process in the first or second week of November.

The Turkish government categorically rejects dialogue with the PKK and has called on the rebels to turn themselves in, vowing to continue military operations against the group.

The PKK, however, has said it would not abandon its armed struggle as long as Ankara keeps up military operations and fails to take concrete steps to give Kurds political rights.