Fears for Pakistan coalition as judges rift deepens

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced Monday his party was withdrawing from the federal Cabinet but would not oppose Pakistan's six-week old coalition government.

Sharif said ministers from his party would meet with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday and hand in their resignations.

Sharif announced the move Monday after the failure of weekend talks with the party of Asif Ali Zardari over the restoration of judges axed by President Pervez Musharraf in November.

While the civilian government, led by Zardari's party, is likely to survive for the time being, Sharif's move raises doubts over its stability and marks a setback to Pakistan's transition to democracy after eight years of military rule under Musharraf.

The two parties formed a coalition after defeating Musharraf's allies in February elections.

"Our ministers will meet the prime minister tomorrow and give in their resignations," Sharif told a news conference in Islamabad after a meeting of his party's central executive committee and lawmakers.

Sharif said he was "very pained" at the decision, and added his party "will not sit on opposition benches for the time being."

"We will sit together for the time being, we are not going to sit on the opposition benches for the time being," he said. "We will not take any step which will benefit Musharraf's dictatorship."

Asked if his party would still support the government on all matters, he said it would take decisions on an "issue by issue" basis.

Both parties still appear reluctant to sever ties. Both have called for the reinstatement of dozens of judges axed by Musharraf when he declared a state of emergency in November to forestall a Supreme Court ruling on his eligibility for office. But the parties have disagreed on exactly how to do it, and weekend negotiations in London did not produce a deal.

A statement issued by Gilani's office said the federal food minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, assured him Monday the party "would continue to support the coalition government regardless of the decision taken by the party leadership today."

Zardari wants to link the judges' reinstatement to broader judicial reforms that could restrict the chief justice's tenure. Complex legal and political issues, including the status of the judges Musharraf installed after the purge, have also proved stumbling blocks to a deal.

"We will not rest until the judges are restored and Musharraf is ousted," Sharif said, adding his party did not accept judges who have taken the oath during the declaration of emergency in November.

"It makes the political horizon very uncertain," retired Gen. Talat Masood, a prominent analyst, said of the impasse between the two parties. "It is a setback for democracy. It is a setback for stability."

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