Pak Supreme Court orders arrest of Prime Minister in kickbacks case

Islamabad, Jan 15: The Pakistan Supreme Court today ordered the arrest of Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and several former ministers and bureaucrats on charge of taking kickbacks in a rental power case. The apex court directed authorities to arrest Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf during hearing of the case. Meanwhile, there has been reports that President Asif Ali Zardari has left for Dubai, but these could not be confirmed from official sources. The arrest will not de facto lead to the exit of the Prime Minister, because he will have to resign only when he is disqualified. The bench ordered the arrest of 16 persons, including the premier, and directed the authorities to present Prime Minister Ashraf in court on Wednesday. The prime minister has been accused of receiving kickbacks and commission in the RPPs case as minister for water and power. In the case, nine RPPs firms were accused of receiving more than Rs22 billion as a mobilisation advance from the government to commission the projects but most of them did not set up their plants and a few of them installed them but with inordinate delay. In March 2012, the Supreme Court had held the RPP contracts non-transparent and ordered that these be rescinded. The court had also ordered National Accountability Bureau chairman Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari to proceed with corruption references against those who were at the helm of affairs when the contracts were signed between 2006 and 2008 to overcome the energy shortfall through RPPs as a stopgap arrangement. The unlucky ones who were expected to face criminal charges at the time of the apex court's ruling included Liaquat Jatoi, Raja Pervez Ashraf as well as Naveed Qamar and Waqar Masood. During their tenures, down payment to different RPPs was increased from seven to 14 per cent. PM Ashraf was given the title of Raja Rental after he was accused of receiving kickbacks in the rental power projects. He was also accused of buying property in London from money earned through corruption in various scams. Who is Raja Parvez Ashraf? Raja Parvez Ashaf, 61, comes from a family of agriculturistsØA strong loyalist of the Bhutto family, he was elected to the National Assembly from Gujar Khan constituency in Rawalpindi districtØAs water and power minister under PM Gilani, he was seen by many Pakistanis as someone who had failed to ease a crippling energy crisisØResigned from Gilani's cabinet in February last year after allegations of corruption in power projectsØAshraf oversaw the import of short-term power stations, or 'rental power' projects that cost the government millions of dollars but produced little energy. The policy earned him the nickname 'Raja Rental'Ø Returned to the cabinet in April this year when he was appointed minister for information technology Ashraf has been active in national politics since 1988. He fought but lost parliamentary elections in 1990, 1993 and 1997, but won in 2002 and 2008. His repeated promises as minister of water and power in Gilani's cabinet to end power shortages in one year remained unfulfilled and his tall claims became a joke in Pakistani media. Gilani dropped him from the cabinet in a reshuffle in February 2011. However, a few months later, he returned as minister for information technology. Ashraf 's incompetent handling of the power sector and his alleged corruption in the infamous rental power projects is being hotly debated on TV channels. Critics call Ashraf "Raja Rental" for his alleged involvement in $1.5 billion rental power project scam. He denies those charges. Water and Power ministryØHe became the head of the Water and Power Ministry in the coalition government of PPP, PML-N, ANP, JUI-F and MQM formed after the 2008 elections.During his tenure as power minister, there was a chronic shortage of electricity generation throughout the country and power cuts (load shedding) remained frequent. ØIn the position, he faced heavy criticism for repeatedly promising the country's power crisis would be over "by December" as the country suffered regular blackouts.ØHe became one of the most sought after ministers in the National Assembly, by legislators who demanded answers for the power crisis. ØAccording to a report on his parliamentary performance, the water and power ministry while Ashraf was in-charge received as many as 1,147 official questions and queries, of which only 60% were responded to.ØThe report opined that Ashraf's performance as minister was "tainted by failures to overcome the power shortfall that continued to aggravate even after he was replaced" and that his actions and responses both inside and outside the National Assembly had "not been translated into actions".ØNevertheless, about 3,570 megawatts of power was added to the national grid during the PPP government, a major portion of which came during Ashraf's term in office. ØHis term is said to have overseen relatively more megawatts being added to the national grid when compared to other ministers of power and energy since Benazir Bhutto's last government.ØHe oversaw expensive "rental power" projects that generated very little power, earning the nickname "Raja Rental" in the Pakistani media. ØHe has been accused of receiving kickbacks in the rental power projects, and of using illegal money to buy foreign property.Ashraf has denied the charges, and as of June 2012, is defending himself before the Supreme Court.No official charges have been made against him. However, the Court revoked his power as the minister for water and power in February 2011. Subsequently, he was appointed to the ministry of information and technology.He is commonly known throughout Pakistan as "Raja Rental" due to the alleged kickbacks he received in the rental power corruption scandal.