Court orders arrest of Pakistani prime minister

FILE -- In this Friday, June 22, 2012 file photo, Pakistan's Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf waves in Islamabad, Pakistan. Pakistan's Supreme Court has ordered the arrest of the country's prime minister as part of a corruption case involving private power stations, officials said Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash, File)

A supporters of Pakistani Sunni Muslim cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri, center, places a sticker on his forehead bearing the image of Tahir-ul-Qadri, during a rally in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013. The cleric who has fired up Pakistanis angry at perceived government corruption and indifference demanded the country's political leaders resign in a speech to thousands of his supporters who amassed in the capital early Tuesday and clashed briefly with security forces. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan's top court ordered the arrest of the prime minister in a corruption case Tuesday, the latest clash between the government and a judiciary that has repeatedly pressured the country's political leaders.

The ruling is sure to inflame the already antagonistic relationship between the court and the government, pushing the country toward yet another political crisis. It also could provide ammunition toTahir-ul-Qadri, a firebrand Muslim cleric who was leading tens of thousands of people in a second day of rallies in Islamabad to press for the removal of the government, which he criticized as corrupt and indifferent to the common man.

The Supreme Court order against Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf was related to a case involving private power stations set up to provide electricity to energy-starved Pakistan. The judges are investigating allegations that the bidding process was marred by corruption.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry ordered the arrest of 16 people involved in the case, including Ashraf, who previously served as minister for water and power, said the written court order.

An adviser to the prime minister, Fawad Chaudhry, said any attempt to arrest the prime minister would be unconstitutional since he enjoys immunity from prosecution while in office.

"We consider it a judicial coup, and it is part of a greater plan to derail democracy," Chaudhry said.

The Supreme Court clashed repeatedly with the government over the last year, especially over an old corruption case against President Asif Ali Zardari in Swiss courts. Pakistan's top court convicted Ashraf's predecessor, Yousuf Raza Gilani, of contempt of court for refusing to reopen the case and ousted him from office.

The judges pressured Ashraf as well, and the government finally agreed to the court's demand to ask the Swiss to pursue the case — which Swiss authorities have said privately they have no intention of doing because Zardari enjoys immunity while in office.

It was unclear whether there was any connection between theSupreme Court's order and Qadri's rally. But some speculated it was a scripted one-two blow by the chief justice and the cleric to strike at their opponents in the government.

Qadri has seized on alleged corruption by Pakistani politicians to rally support for his protest against the government. The cleric rocketed to national prominence after his return from Canada late last year, and his message has galvanized many Pakistanis who say the government has brought them only misery.

But critics fear that Qadri and his demands for election reforms may derail the country's upcoming democratic elections, possibly at the behest of the country's powerful military — allegations denied by the cleric.

Those concerns could intensify following a fiery speech he delivered to protesters Tuesday in which he condemned the country's politicians as corrupt thieves and lavished praise on both the Supreme Court and the military, which has a history of toppling civilian governments in coups.

He said there are only two institutions in Pakistan that "are functioning and performing their duties to fulfill the needs of the people."

"One is the judiciary of Pakistan, and one is the armed forces of Pakistan, and nothing else," said Qadri.

The 61-year-old cleric spoke from inside a bulletproof vehicle parked several hundred meters (yards) from parliament, facing hundreds of police in riot gear who formed a human barrier against at least 30,000 demonstrators packed into the main avenue running through Islamabad. Many waved green and white Pakistani flags and cheered as Qadri spoke.

The determination of the marchers and organizers has thrust them into direct confrontation with the government, which has strongly opposed the rally.

The protest has been largely peaceful ever since demonstrators set off from Lahore on Sunday, but the underlying tension was evident early Tuesday morning when police and protesters clashed hours after Qadri arrived in Islamabad and addressed his supporters. Demonstrators threw rocks at a vehicle, while others held up bullet casings and an empty tear gas canister.

Qadri called on his supporters to stay in the streets until the national and provincial governments were dissolved, saying lawmakers were focused on lining their own pockets rather than addressing the problems of common citizens.

"The lawmakers are the law breakers," said Qadri.

Many supporters have pledged to remain in Islamabad for as long as Qadri demands. They brought blankets to ward off the cold, and many slept in the street Monday night.

Qadri maintained that his movement was not anti-democratic, but he criticized the current political system as broken. Many of his recommendations to fix it, such as rooting out corruption and incompetence, seem more aspirational than grounded in specific details. He has issued numerous vague demands, such as vetting political candidates to make sure they're honest and restructuring the system so that the common people have more opportunity to take part in politics.

His anti-government barbs have hit home with many Pakistanis. Five years after Pakistan's return to democracy from military rule, many are furious at the power outages, terror attacks and unemployment that continue to plague them.

"This system has rotted. It has to change," said 29-year-old Iftikhar Ahmad, who traveled to Islamabad from the central city of Sargodha. "I am going to stay here ... even if I die."

Many protesters like Saqib Sultan, from the eastern city of Lahore, brought their families and slept on the road.

"My wife is here with me, my children are here, and I am here," he said. Like many others, he vowed to stay until their demands are met and called this "the last chance to save Pakistan."

One city official put the number of protesters at roughly 30,000. He did not want to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Some of Qadri's reform proposals have sparked concern that the cleric is being used as a front for the Pakistani military to derail the upcoming vote, just as the country prepares for its first transfer of power from one civilian government to another.

Qadri has called for a military role in picking the caretaker government that will take over temporarily ahead of elections, and has said it could stay in place longer than normal to enact necessary reforms.

Qadri's apparent rise to a national political force in a matter of weeks since his return from Canada have also raised questions about whether he's been getting outside funding.

The government has painted Qadri as a menace to the country's fragile democracy. Chaudhry, the prime minister's adviser, said Qadri's demands are a revolt against the state.

"Thirty thousand people cannot be allowed to take hostage 180 million people," he said.

___

Associated Press writers Sebastian Abbot, Rebecca Santana and Zarar Khan contributed to this report.

Pakistan turmoil deepens as court orders PM's arrest

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered the arrest of the prime minister on Tuesday on corruption allegations, ratcheting up pressure on a government that is also facing street protests led by a cleric who has a history of ties to the army.

The combination of the arrest order and the mass protest in the capital Islamabad led by Muslim cleric Muhammad Tahirul Qadriraised fears among politicians that the military was working with the judiciary to force out a civilian leader.

"There is no doubt that Qadri's march and the Supreme Court's verdict were masterminded by the military establishment of Pakistan," Fawad Chaudhry, an aide to Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, told Reuters.

"The military can intervene at this moment as the Supreme Court has opened a way for it."

However, the ruling coalition led by the Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) has a majority in parliament and lawmakers can simply elect another prime minister if Ashraf is ousted. In June, Ashraf replaced Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, who was disqualified by the Supreme Court in a previous showdown between the government and the judiciary.

Also, elections are due in a few months and President Asif Ali Zardari hopes to lead the first civilian government in Pakistan's 65 years as an independent nation that will complete its full term.

But power struggles will distract the unpopular government from tackling an array of problems - a Taliban insurgency, economic stagnation and growing sectarian tensions triggered by bomb attacks and tit-for-tat shootings.

The military, which sees itself as the guarantor of Pakistan's stability, has long regarded the PPP-led government as corrupt, incompetent and unable to prevent the nuclear-armed country from falling apart.

Pakistan's powerful army has a long history of coups and intervening in politics. But these days generals seem to have little appetite for a coup. Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani has vowed to keep the military out of politics.

But many believe top military leaders still try to exert behind-the-scenes influence, and any moves by the military in the latest crisis could not happen without a green light from Kayani, arguably the most powerful man in Pakistan.

"Extra-constitutional regime change, or "outside of the political calendar" if you will, is only possible in Pakistan with the tacit nod of the military, on account of it being a long-time stakeholder in Pakistani politics," said Shamila Chaudhry, an analyst at Eurasia Group.

"The Qadri march was like a trial balloon. The military indirectly sent it out to see if it would work."

Some politicians believe the military will try to dominate the caretaker administration that will oversee the run-up to the polls after parliament is dissolved, which is due to happen in March. An election date has yet to be announced.

The protest by Qadri and his followers has also been seen by commentators as being orchestrated by the military to add to the pressure on Zardari's government, although the military has denied any ties to the cleric.

PEOPLE'S MONEY

Thousands of followers of the populist cleric camped near the federal parliament cheered and waved Pakistani flags as television channels broadcast news of the Supreme Court's order to arrest Ashraf on charges of corruption.

"We don't want any of those old politicians. They just take all the people's money," said 19-year-old student Mohammed Wasim. "We congratulate the whole nation (on the Supreme Court's order). Now we have to take the rest of the thieves to court."

Government officials said they were baffled by the arrest order, which came hours after Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry said elections should go ahead as scheduled.

"This was totally unexpected," an official in Ashraf's office told Reuters. "The prime minister and two or three of his friends were watching Qadri speak on television and this suddenly happened."

Pakistan's stock exchange fell by more than 500 points, or nearly three percent, on news of the court order, due to fears over fresh political turmoil, which comes against a backdrop of militant bombings and tension on the border with India.

Qadri, who played a role in backing a military coup in 1999, threatened to remain camped out near the federal parliament with thousands of supporters until his demands for the resignation of the government were met.

The fiery orator returned home from Canada less than a month ago to lead a call for electoral reforms to bar corrupt politicians from office that has made him an instant hit among Pakistanis disillusioned with the state.

In a speech from behind a bullet-proof shield in front of parliament, Qadri praised the military and the judiciary, the country's two other power centers.

"(The government) has wasted and brought a bad end to our armed forces, those armed forces who are highly sincere, highly competent and highly capable and highly professional," he said, alternating between Urdu and English.

"Even they can't do anything because the political government isn't able to deliver anything from this land. Judgments are being passed by our great, independent judiciary but the government is not ready to implement them."

Qadri is demanding that the government dissolve the legislature and announce the formation of acaretaker government to oversee the run-up to elections.

One senior military officer, who said he was speaking in a purely personal capacity, said there was no appetite in the military to repeat the coups seen in Pakistan's past, but added the stand-off could be resolved if the army played a role in the formation of a caretaker government as a "moderator".

"We should try as far as possible to abide by the constitution and law in looking for change. The army chief has made this clear," the officer told Reuters.

"But things seem to be moving beyond control," the officer added. "It is totally incorrect to say the army is behind Qadri. But if he brings thousands of people to the streets and things get worse, there may be very few options."

(Additional reporting by Matthew Green and Mubasher Bukhari in ISLAMABAD and Jibran Ahmad in PESHAWAR; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

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State television said there had been one explosion at the university, which lies in the government-controlled area, describing it as a "terrorist attack".

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