Sharif Backs out of Ruling Coalition

Saw this coming as soon as Zardari and Sharif formed the coalition. Especially since Musharraf resigned from the Presidency. Zardari and Sharif's opposition to Musharraf was the only thing that those two had in common. The split comes amid the negotiations to reinstate the judges that Musharraf dismissed last year.

Sharif wants all of the dismissed judges to be reinstated whereas Zardari wants different judges to be picked. Mainly because Zardari fears that his amnesty for corruption might be invalidated if all the same judges are reinstated.

Sharif said that for now his party will 'play a constructive role' in the opposition. He will probably use the threat to topple the government as leverage to gain more compromises. BBC

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says his PML-N party is pulling out of the country's multi-party governing coalition.

He has been in dispute with the country's biggest party, the PPP, over who should be the next president.

The two sides also disagree on the reinstatement of judges sacked by former President Pervez Musharraf.

The move throws Pakistan into further turmoil at a time of economic gloom and growing threats from militants.

....

Mr Sharif told journalists in Islamabad that the PPP had broken promises, in particular over the issue of the judges. "When written documents are repeatedly flouted, trust cannot remain," he said. "We cannot find a ray of hope."

However, he said his party wanted to play a constructive role in opposition, indicating that he will not try to bring down the government for now.

PPP leader Asif Zardari, whose wife Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in December, has announced that he will stand for the presidential election on 6 September.

Mr Sharif now says his party will put up a candidate against him.

Uncomfortable

The PPP fears that if all the judges sacked by Mr Musharraf get their jobs back, they may invalidate an amnesty that paved the way for Mr Zardari and Ms Bhutto to return to the country last year.

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