Pakistan Supreme Court Orders Arrest of Prime Minister

[Hissyspit]

Source: Reuters

Pakistan Supreme Court orders arrest of prime minister

Tue Jan 15, 2013 4:49am EST

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's 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.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE90E0BK20130115

[Vinnie From Indy]

1. What a comforting thought!

Nuclear weapons being possesed by religious fanatics is undoubtedly the future of our species. It's gonna suck!

Cheers!

[SCVDem]

3. So, who exactly is in charge

of Americas Nuclear Arsenal?

Secular scientists?

Shiva

NRA members?

Huckabee

Nope, no religious fanatics over here!

[UnrepentantLiberal]

6. Yeah, we're so much like Pakistan.

[bananas]

2. Earlier: Pakistan cleric tells followers: bring down government now

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/14/us-pakistan-protest-idUSBRE90D0V620130114



Pakistan cleric tells followers: bring down government now

By Mubasher Bukhari

ISLAMABAD | Mon Jan 14, 2013 6:35pm EST

(Reuters) - A populist Pakistani cleric told tens of thousands of supporters gathered in the capital for an anti-corruption rally early on Tuesday morning that they could force the government to quit within hours.

Supporters of Sufi cleric Muhammad Tahirul Qadri heeded his call to move towards parliament and removed the barriers put in place to contain them until they reached the square in front of the building.

"The march is over and the revolution has started," said Qadri, who shot to fame since returning from Canada a few weeks ago, demanding an interim government.

<snip>

Qadri's call has divided Pakistanis. Some hold him up as a champion of reform, others see him as a possible stooge of the military, which has a history of coups and interfering in elections.

(Additional reporting by Katharine Houreld and Mehreen Zahra-Malik; Writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

[UnrepentantLiberal]

7. This could be a problem.

[cosmicone]

4. Pakistan's nukes

should have been taken over as collateral for all the billions we gave them anyway.

When Richard Armitage made Musharraf kneel before him, this should have been thought of.

[Scuba]

5. +1

[bemildred]

8. It's just waiting for a match. nt

[karynnj]

9. Here's a fuller article that explains the background better

- but as stated in the replies this is not good news.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/16/world/asia/pakistan-high-court-orders-arrest-of-prime-minister.html?_r=0

[samsingh]

10. this is getting intense

[triplepoint]

11. Structure of the Pakistani Government

Last edited Tue Jan 15, 2013, 04:01 PM - Edit history (1)

The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan adopted in 1985 provides for:


1. A federal parliamentary system

2. A President as head of state
The President, in keeping with the constitutional provision that the state religion is Islam, must be a Muslim. Elected for a five-year term by an electoral college consisting of members of the Senate and National Assembly and members of the provincial assemblies, the president is eligible for reelection. But no individual may hold the office for more than two consecutive terms. The president may resign or be impeached and may be removed from office for incapacity or gross misconduct by a twothirds vote of the members of the parliament. The president generally acts on the advice of the prime minister but has important residual powers. One of the most important--a legacy of Zia--is contained in the Eighth Amendment, which gives the president the power to dissolve the National Assembly "in his discretion where, in his opinion . . . a situation has arisen in which the Government of the Federation cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and an appeal to the electorate is necessary."

3. A popularly elected Prime Minister as head of the government

Reference Link:
http://www.mongabay.com/history/pakistan

Here's the deal on Pakistan's Supreme Court:
The justices are presidentially-appointed

Just so you know:
Last year, the Supreme Court ousted Ashraf's (Pakistan's current PM) predecessor, Yousuf Raza Gilani, in a contempt case related to old corruption charges against President Asif Ali Zardari.

Reference Link:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/15/world/asia/pakistan-politics/index.html?eref=rss_mostpopular


Prime Minister of Pakistan:

Born on December 26, 1950 in Sanghar, Sindh, Raja Pervez Ashraf was the Federal Minister for Information Technology and earlier Minister for Water and Power in the present PPP-led government. Raja Pervez Ashraf has remained Chairman of Social Action from 1994-1996. He has been twice elected as a Member of the National Assembly from his constituency of Gujar Khan, Rawalpindi with the latest being of February 2008 elections. Before taking oath of the Prime Minister of Pakistan he was Secretary General of the PPP. He is the graduate from University of Sindh (1970). He is a businessman. Married with two sons and two daughters, he has travelled to Saudi Arabia, U.K, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, U.A.E, China, Belgium and North Korea.
.
.




Reference Link:
http://embassyofpakistanusa.org/Prime_Minister.php