Pakistan army, judiciary conspire against gov't

An aide to Pakistan's embattled prime minister said on Tuesday there was "no doubt" the country's powerful military and Supreme Court were working together to topple the government.    

Fawad Chaudhry was speaking to Reuters after the Supreme Court ordered the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf. A populist cleric believed to be backed by the military has called for the resignation of the unpopular government.               

This as the Pakistani Supreme Court has ordered the arrest of the prime minister in connection with a corruption case linked to power projects, television channels reported, plunging the country into fresh political turmoil.                       

The surprise move came as a populist cleric, who is believed to be backed by the military, demanded the resignation of the government in protests attended by thousands of followers in the heart of the capital Islamabad.                          

Earlier, Pakistani security forces fired shots in the air on Tuesday to quell supporters of a populist Muslim cleric calling for the resignation of the beleaguered government while the interior minister dismissed his demands as unconstitutional.                           

Sufi cleric Muhammad Tahirul Qadri, believed to be backed by Pakistan's powerful military, has brought tens of thousands of followers to the capital Islamabad to demand the resignation of top political leaders in the civilian government and electoral reforms to stamp out corruption.                               

A spokesman for Qadri said his supporters had prevented government forces from arresting him. The cleric recently returned home from Canada to lead a call for reforms that have made him an instant hit among Pakistanis disillusioned with the state.              

The spokesman said six supporters of the cleric were wounded.                 

Qadri, who says elections scheduled for this spring should be delayed indefinitely until Pakistan's endemic corruption is rooted out, may not pose any immediate threat to the U.S.-backed civilian government, but his protest is the latest in a series of challenges for the administration. 


REUTERS/AP