Pakistan's Latest Political Crisis: Court Orders Arrest Of Prime Minister

The BBC writes that the court ordered the arrest of Ashraf and 15 others on corruption charges. Ashraf, the BBC adds, denies allegations that he accepted bribes "when approving power generation projects as minister for water and power in 2010." Appeals may delay any move to arrest him.

Ashraf has only been prime minister since mid-2012. He replaced Yousuf Reza Gilani, who was ousted from office by the court because he refused to pursue a corruption investigation into President Asif Ali Zardari.

All this happens as Pakistan prepared for elections in May. The Washington Post writes that "some observers said the [arrest] order, if implemented, could derail elections. ... They speculated that Pakistan's powerful military leadership could establish a caretaker government and then call for a delay in choosing which political party would lead Pakistan for the next five years."

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