In further trouble for Pakistan Prime Minister, the Supreme Court on Thursday gave the country’s anti-corruption watchdog time till January 30 to file a case against Raja Pervez Ashraf and Interior Minister Rehman Malik over alleged graft in a state-run firm.

The move is expected to increase tensions between an embattled executive and the pro-active judiciary.

A two-judge bench directed the National Accountability Bureau to file a case against Ashraf, Malik and Jahangir Badar, the secretary general of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, for appointing and allegedly sheltering former Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority chairman Tauqeer Sadiq.

Sadiq fled the country last year after he was accused of corruption. Last week, another bench of the apex court had directed NAB to arrest the premier and 16 other persons over alleged corruption in setting up power projects.

During Thursday’s hearing, the apex court directed NAB to take action against all those who were responsible for appointing Saqid and for protecting him.

The bench adjourned the case till January 31 after directing NAB to file a report after registering a case within a week.