Pak SC orders arrest of PM Ashraf

The Pakistan Supreme Court today ordered the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in the Rs2,200 crore Rental Power Projects (RPP) scam.

Ashraf, who became PM in June 2012, is the second Pakistani prime minister to run afoul of the country's powerful supreme court, since the sacking of his predecessor Yousaf Raza Gilani, by the court.

The developments come on a day when popular cleric Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri posed an aggressive challenge to the Pakistani government demanding that the corrupt government of President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf resign immediately.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry ordered the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to arrest 16 accused in the RPP scam, including PM Ashraf, within 24 hours and submit a report.

Ashraf, three of his ex-cabinet colleagues and four former secretaries of government departments are alleged to be involved in the case.

PM Ashraf is accused of taking bribes and commission in 2008 when he was minister for water and power. He is also alleged to have bought property in London with the wealth gained through various scams.