breakingnews:

Pakistan’s Supreme Court orders arrest of country’s PM

BBC News: Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ordered the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and 15 others over corruption allegations, raising fears of a political crisis just months ahead of an election.

Mr Ashraf denies accepting bribes when approving power generation projects as minister for water and power in 2010.

Photo: Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf (C) waves while surrounded by youths during a ceremony to mark the country’s Independence Day in Islamabad on August 14, 2012 (Aamir Qureshi / AFP – Getty Images, file)

PM Ashraf is accused of accepting kicbacks from private energy providers, which Pakistan is very dependent on due to their population outpacing the capacity of their power grid, and using them to finance land purchases abroad.