Even by the standards of
Pakistan's often turbulent politics, it was a stormy day that ratcheted tensions
ahead of national elections later this year.
The Supreme Court, which has
clashed repeatedly with Pakistan's political leaders in recent years, issued the
arrest order for Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and a number of other
officials over allegations of illegal payments for electricity-generating
projects when Ashraf was minister for water and power.
Supporters of Canadian-Pakistani cleric Tahir ul
Qadri protest in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Tuesday.
Speaking on local broadcaster
Dunya News, Fawad Chaudhry, one of Ashraf's advisers, called the court's
decision "a soft coup" against democracy. The prime minister has consistently
denied the allegations, he said.
Rehman Malik, the country's
interior minister, struck a defiant tone.
"Even after this order, (Ashraf)
is the prime minister and, God willing, he will continue as prime minister."
But retired Adm. Fasih Bukhari,
who is now the chairman of Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau, told
reporters that the order of the court would be implemented.
Last year, the Supreme Court
ousted Ashraf's predecessor, Yousuf Raza Gilani, in a contempt case related to
old corruption charges against President Asif Ali Zardari.
The Karachi Stock Exchange
crashed Tuesday on the news of the Supreme Court action. The KSE shed 500 points
in just 10 minutes.
The arrest order for Ashraf was
music to the ears of supporters of Tahir ul Qadri, a Muslim cleric who wants Pakistan's leaders
thrown out in favor of a caretaker government to bring about electoral reform
and flush out corruption.
The demonstrators welcomed the
court decision, chanting, "Long live the Supreme Court."
Just ahead of the court's
announcement, Qadri, housed in a bulletproof container, addressed thousands of
people gathered near the parliament in central Islamabad, singling out the
judiciary and the military as the only two institutions that he said were
functioning in Pakistan.
He had previously called on the
civilian government to disband by Tuesday morning to allow the formation of the
caretaker government. That deadline has passed, and he has urged his supporters
to continue their demonstration in central Islamabad and to double their numbers
each day.
Claims of a
conspiracy
The timing of the arrest order
against Ashraf appeared to play to Qadri's advantage.
A senior official of the
governing Pakistan People's Party, which is headed by Zardari, called the
court's decision "a conspiracy."
Speaking on Dunya News, Sharjeel
Memon suggested the order had "a direct connection" with Qadri's movement.
Corruption is widely considered
a chronic problem in Pakistan's political system; Zardari has served prison time
on corruption charges
And during his time as minister
of water and power, Ashraf is accused of accepting kickbacks from power
companies to approve expensive projects, known as Rental Power Projects, that in
reality generated very little electricity.
Pakistan regularly grapples with
chronic power outages, with its booming population putting a strain on the
public power grid. So the government had to rely on private power producers.
Ashraf is alleged to have used
the kickbacks from these private firms to buy property abroad. The accusations
earned him the derisive nickname "Rental Raja," and the Supreme Court eventually
stripped him of his former ministerial role.
If authorities follow through on
the court's order and arrest Ashraf, he will remain prime minister for the time
being, said Salman Akram Raja, a constitutional expert.
"The court hasn't convicted him;
he is an accused at this stage," he said in an interview on local broadcaster
Geo News.
The political drama set off by
the Supreme Court followed unrest in Islamabad's streets earlier Tuesday.
Brief clashes took place between
security forces and Qadri's supporters as the crowd moved into the area near the
parliament where protests regularly take place.
Local media reported that police
fired shots into the air and lobbed tear gas at the crowd. The unrest subsided
after 10 to 15 minutes, and the protesters continued peacefully.
Qadri's supporters accused
police of starting the unrest by trying to arrest the cleric, but Interior
Minister Rehman Malik said police were doing their best to protect Qadri and
control the crowd. He said the reported clashes are under investigation.
Footage from local broadcaster
Ary News showed chaotic scenes of people running and objects being thrown as
gunshots echoed in the background.
'The
beginning of the revolution'
Qadri had already held a
nighttime rally around 2 a.m. Tuesday after he and his convoy of followers
arrived in Islamabad after traveling for more than a day from the eastern city
of Lahore.
"It's the beginning of the
revolution," he said, referring to Zardari as "ex-president" and to Ashraf as
"ex-prime minister."
But the group's numbers fell far
short of what organizers of the "Million Man March" had predicted, with
witnesses estimating that about 20,000 people took part.
Malik, who visited rally sites
Monday by helicopter, said the turnout numbers showed that Qadri's event had
"badly failed."
After eight years in Canada,
Qadri returned last month to Pakistan, where he is waging a campaign against the
political elite. He has called for a caretaker administration to replace the
current government and to carry out election reforms.
His suggestion that the
judiciary and the military weigh in on the composition of the interim government
has raised concerns in a country where military leaders have repeatedly seized
power and ruled for long periods of time.
Some Pakistanis, noting that
Qadri served as a lawmaker in the early 2000s, when Gen. Pervez Musharraf was
leading the country, have suggested he may be working on behalf of the
military.
Qadri denies those allegations
and maintains he is simply seeking to ensure a corruption-free electoral
process.
The current government and
opposition have rejected his requests for a caretaker administration, insisting
that nothing will stand in the way of timely elections and the democratic
process.
"We will not succumb to these
illegal demands," Malik said last week.
If this year's elections take
place without major difficulties, it would represent the first time in
Pakistan's history that a civilian government made it through a five-year term.
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