Pakistan court orders arrest of prime minister

Pakistan’s top judge on Tuesday ordered the arrest of the prime minister over alleged corruption in power projects, threatening to exacerbate political turmoil ahead of scheduled elections.

The announcement was made in the Supreme Court as thousands of people protested in the capital Islamabad, demanding the immediate dissolution of parliament on the third day of a mass march led by an influential cleric.

“The chief justice ordered that all concerned, regardless of their rank, who have been booked in the case be arrested and if someone leaves the country, then chairman of NAB (anti-corruption watchdog) will be held responsible along with his investigating team,” lawyer Aamir Abbas told reporters.

“The sixteen include Raja Ashraf,” said Abbas, referring to Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf. He said Ashraf had not been referred to by name by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

Protesters camped out near parliament broke into spontaneous applause as news of the arrest orders filtered through.

Ashraf took office in June last year after the Supreme Court dismissed his predecessor, prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, for contempt after he refused to ask Swiss authorities to reopen corruption cases against the president.

Abbas, who represents NAB, said the defendants had been ordered to appear before the Supreme Court on Thursday.