Even Indian PM faced corruption allegations: Khar

'Problem of corruption plagues many countries within South Asia and elsewhere also,' says Khar

Even as corruption charges threatened to topple Pakistan's second Premier in a row, the country's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar drew a parallel with India, saying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had also faced "very big" allegations.

"The problem of corruption plagues many countries within South Asia and elsewhere also. You saw many many scandals of corruption and allegations on the Prime Minister within India also very recently and very very big ones," she said here.

She was responding to a question at an event at the Asia Society yesterday on the "tremendous corruption" in Pakistan, which has led to Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry ordering the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf for allegedly receiving bribes in power projects.

Ashraf's predecessor Yousuf Raza Gilani was ousted from power by the Supreme Court after he was convicted of contempt for not obeying its orders to reopen graft cases in Switzerland against President Asif Ali Zardari.