Pakistan Supreme Court orders arrest of PM

(Vatican Radio) Pakistan's top court today ordered the arrest of the country's prime minister in a corruption case. The Supreme Court's order, was related to a case involving private power stations set up to provide electricity to Pakistan. The judges are investigating allegations that the bidding process was marred by corruption.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry ordered the arrest of a number people involved in the case, including Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, who previously served as minister for water and power.
An advisor to the Prime Minister, denounced the court's order, calling it "unconstitutional".
Mr Ashraf denies accepting bribes when approving power generation projects as minister for water and power three years ago.

The court developments came as a Muslim cleric, Tahir-ul-Qadri, lead a huge protest rally on Tuesday in Islamabad to press for the removal of the government, which he claims is made up of corrupt politicians.

Despite support for Qadri, critics fear that his demands for election reforms may derail the country's upcoming democratic elections. Listen