South Asia News
Sharif's party pulls out of Pakistani government (1st Lead)
By DPA
May 12, 2008, 13:49 GMT

Islamabad - Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said on Monday that his party was quitting the coalition government following a deadlock over the reinstatement of judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf.

'The May 12 deadline is ending today. Our ministers will hand over their resignations to the prime minister tomorrow (Tuesday),' Sharif told reporters in Islamabad.

However, he vowed to continue supporting the government led by slain Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP).

'We have also decided that we will not become a part of any conspiracy to strengthen the dictatorship. Therefore, we will not destabilize the democratic government,' he said.

Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) emerged as the runner-up while PPP as the largest party in February 18 elections after routing Musharraf's political allies.

The two parties vowed to restore more than 60 judges axed by Musharraf under an emergency order on November 3 as the Supreme Court was set to rule against his controversial re-election for the another five-year presidential term.

But they could not agree on the mechanics of the restoration. Sharif says judges, including chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, should be restored with full powers through a parliamentary resolution followed by an executive order.

On the other hand, Zardari argues this might provoke Musharraf, who has the power to dissolve the parliament, and his handpicked judges in the existing Supreme Court, resulting in a constitutional crisis.

He, instead, has proposed that the taking back of judges should occur through a constitutional package approved by the parliament that limits the powers of Chaudhry as well as accommodates Musharraf's favourite justices.

After missing their first cut-off date of April 30 for the judges' reinstatement the two leaders agreed to extend the deadline until May 12.

The sides reached a dead end on Sunday when Sharif's two-day negotiations with Zardari, Bhutto's widower who now heads the PPP, in London remained inconclusive.

The dissolution of the alliance could throw Pakistan into political turmoil and benefit Musharraf, whose political supporters are willing to join the government.

But Sharif said that his party would sit on treasury benches and continue cooperating with the PPP-led government 'on issue-to-issue basis.' 'We will not take any step that could benefit Musharraf's dictatorship,' he added.

Concerned at the prospects of political instability in Pakistan, Washington made a last-ditch effort to keep the governing coalition intact when US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher met both Zardari and Sharif in London on Sunday.

'We have taken decisions according to the inspiration of the people of Pakistan. There is no American pressure on us,' Sharif said.