Pakistan's Supreme Court has ordered the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and 15 others over corruption allegations.
Mr Ashraf denies accepting bribes when approving power generation projects as minister for water and power in 2010.
Analysts say that the move is unlikely to lead to his immediate removal.
It comes as populist cleric Tahirul Qadri led thousands of protesters in Islamabad, demanding the resignation of the government.
Television images showed demonstrators celebrating and triumphantly applauding as news broke of the court's order.
The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says it may just be a coincidence - but to many observers the timing of the move bolsters allegations that the cleric is backed by elements of the judiciary and military.
In recent years Pakistan's government, judiciary and powerful military have been at loggerheads.
Analysis
The Supreme Court's order to arrest Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf comes in a case the court has been hearing for over a year.
Mr Ashraf is accused of accepting bribes in 2010, when he was the minister of water and power. This does not automatically lead to his unseating, but analysts say the timing of the court order is suspicious at a time of mass protest and just months ahead of an election
The streets of Islamabad are clogged by anti-corruption protesters led by a Canadian cleric of Pakistani origin, Dr Tahirul Qadri. Since his arrival in the country last month, his critics have been accusing him of trying to derail the democratic system just months ahead of polls.
There has been speculation that he may be fishing for a role for the military and the judiciary when it comes to the appointment of an interim government which will preside over those elections, due in May.
Mr Ashraf's predecessor, Yousuf Raza Gilani, was forced out as prime minister last June after the Supreme Court convicted him of contempt for failing to pursue a corruption case against the president.
Mr Ashraf was appointed in his place, but analysts predicted that his tenure would also be troubled.
Dogged by controversyThe prime minister's adviser, Fawad Chaudhry, condemned the order, labelling it unconstitutional, the Associated Press news agency reports.
Mr Ashraf is set to lead the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) into general elections due in May.
He has long been a senior figure in the ruling PPP, and has twice been a minister in the government which has been in power since 2008.
But it was his tenure as minister for water and power which is dogged by controversy.
The government needed to generate more power to deal with electricity shortages, but there were accusations of corruption from the opposition about the so-called "Rental Power Projects" devised to solve the crisis.
Raja Pervez Ashraf
- Born in 1950, Raja Pervez Ashraf comes from a land-owning political family with strong connections to Sindh province
- He has been active in national politics since 1988 but lost repeated parliamentary elections until the 2002 and 2008 polls
- Since 2008 he has served as both water and power minister and information technology minister
- But his time as water and power minister was dogged by power cuts and controversy over a power generation scheme
- He denies charges of kickbacks
Critics labelled him "Raja Rental" because of the kickbacks he is alleged to have taken - he has consistently denied these claims and left the water and power post in 2011.
But many analysts say this case could simply be a continuation of the long feud between the PPP-led government and the judiciary.
And there have also been chaotic scenes in Islamabad after a long-planned march from Lahore to the capital by Dr Qadri culminated in a mass rally.
Clashes briefly erupted on Tuesday before Dr Qadri addressed his thousands of supporters camped near parliament, vowing to continue his mass protest indefinitely.
The cleric has said he wants the military and judiciary to be involved in installing a caretaker government to oversee the forthcoming elections.
But the government has accused him of trying to postpone elections due by May.
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