Pakistan rulers still split on judges, threatening coalition
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistani leaders failed yesterday to reach a deal on restoring judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf, increasing the likelihood the ruling coalition could fall apart after just six weeks in power and plunge the country back into political turmoil.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistani leaders failed yesterday to reach a deal on restoring judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf, increasing the likelihood the ruling coalition could fall apart after just six weeks in power and plunge the country back into political turmoil.
Negotiators from the two main ruling parties held talks in London throughout the weekend, ahead of a self-imposed deadline today for resolving the issue. But officials said last night they were heading back to Pakistan without a deal.
Representatives of the junior party, that of ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said members would meet today to consider whether to stay in the coalition. The party has already threatened to quit the cabinet.
Sharif's brother Shahbaz said both sides had made sincere efforts to reach an agreement. He downplayed the possibility of an all-out opposition stand.
"We will support the government issue to issue - we will not let the government destabilize," he said. "I pray we could iron out these differences and give good news to the nation tomorrow."
Husain Haqqani, one of the negotiators for the larger party of Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, said the two sides "are still trying to take this matter to a satisfactory conclusion."
Musharraf removed the judges and declared emergency rule in November to halt legal challenges to his presidency. Anti-Musharraf parties came to power after winning parliamentary elections in February and promised to restore the judges. But they have quibbled on the mechanics.
Sharif, who was tossed out by Musharraf in a 1999 coup, has pushed for the president's ouster and demanded outright restoration of the deposed judges. A return of the judges could increase pressure on Musharraf, long a U.S. ally in the war on terrorism, to step down if the courts decide to revisit his eligibility for office.
But Zardari, who has been less harsh toward Musharraf, has linked the judges' reinstatement to broader judicial reforms. Complex legal and political issues, including the status of the judges Musharraf installed after the purge, have proved stumbling blocks to a deal.
