Zardari Rejects Sharif's Resignation

Zardari has rejected the resignation of 9 cabinet ministers that belong to Sharif's party the PML. Sharif could use this to his benefit and gain some concessions from the PPP for returning back to the coalition in case Sharif doesn't come back to the coalition. I doubt Zardari would want Musharraf's party in the coalition. After all, some in Pakistan believe Musharraf had a hand in Bhutto's assisination.

Musharraf recently appointed Salman Taseer as governor of the Punjap province. Taseer is a member of the PPP and is a long time rival of Sharif's. Plus the Punjab province is Sharif's power base.

I suspect Musharraf is driving a wedge between the two parties so they won't have the votes to kick him out of office. Sharif was the Prime Minister of Pakistan before Musharraf overthrew him in a coup.

So there's bad blood between the three most powerful men in Pakistan. Should be interesting. Reuters

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The head of Pakistan's ruling coalition has refused to accept the resignations of ministers from the party of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and aims to persuade it to rejoin their six-week-old government.

Nine ministers from Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), or PML (N), quit the cabinet led by the party of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on Tuesday after their leaders failed to reach agreement on the restoration of judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf in November.

....

But Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's widower and leader of the coalition, has told Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani not to accept the resignations and he would persuade Sharif to withdraw them and rejoin the cabinet.

"Mr Asif Ali Zardari said that he was committed to promoting national reconciliation and asked the prime minister not to accept resignations tendered by the PML (N) ministers," the prime minister's office said in a statement issued late on Thursday.

[...]

Analysts say new strains are cropping up within the coalition.

On Thursday, Musharraf appointed a new governor for the central province of Punjab, Pakistan's biggest province and the traditional heartland of the political-military establishment, which is also Sharif's power base.

The new governor, Salman Taseer, is a veteran member of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and is widely seen as an old adversary of Sharif.

Taseer, who is also seen as close to Musharraf, was appointed governor on the recommendation of the PPP. Unelected governors represent the federal government and traditionally wield significant influence over provincial governments.

Sharif's party is highly suspicious of Taseer's appointment with some members seeing it setting the scene for efforts to destablise the Punjab provincial government it dominates.

Differences between the two major parties have renewed talk of a secret deal between the PPP and the unpopular Musharraf and fueled speculation that Zardari is ready to prop up Musharraf if Sharif fails to fall into line.

Sharif has threatened to join the lawyers community if it launches a protest movement to press the government to reinstate the judges Musharraf dismissed after he imposed emergency rule.

Zardari says he too wants to reinstate the judges but wants to tie it to a constitutional package of political and judicial reforms. The proposed constitutional changes could sideline the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Iftikhar Chaudhry, who has become a rally figure for anti-Musharraf forces after he refused to resign under Musharraf's pressure in March last year.

But some analysts said despite the strains, the two major parties would not like to part ways at a time when they are confronting a powerful president.