Pakistan PM fights calls for resignation as corruption protest movement gains momentum

Arrest warrant for Pakistan PM presage big political battles ahead

Pakistan court orders PM amid protests

AFP – Pakistan’s top judge Tuesday ordered the arrest of the prime minister over graft allegations, threatening to worsen turmoil as thousands of protesters demanded the government step down. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry ordered officials to arrest 16 people accused of corruption in power generation.

The Pakistani Supreme Court has called for the arrest of the Prime Minister over a corruption scandal. The news was met with elation by thousands of protesters in the capital. Tens of thousands of Pakistanis join a convoy of vehicles led by cleric Tahirul Qadri in a long march from Lahore to Islamabad to demand electoral reforms.

Pakistani opposition politician Imran Khan called Tuesday on President Asif Ali Zardari to resign immediately to make way for free and fair elections. “President Asif Ali Zardari should resign immediately. He cannot hold free and fair elections because he is holding two offices,” Khan told a news conference.

India’s prime minister said Tuesday there could be no “business as usual” with Pakistan after a deadly flare-up in Kashmir as New Delhi halted a new visa programme and the fallout hit sports events. While diplomats have warned against allowing four recent cross-border killings to wreck a fragile peace.