Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Worrisome Signs - Coalition Cracking a Day after Musharraf?

Sharif Threatens to Pull Out of Pakistani Coalition
By JANE PERLEZ, New York Times, August 20, 2008

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A day after their unified effort ousted President Pervez Musharraf, the two major parties in the governing coalition fell into disarray on Tuesday when they failed to agree on the restoration of the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

The instant deterioration in relations became evident when Nawaz Sharif, the leader of one of the parties, the Pakistan Muslim League-N, walked out of a meeting here and headed back to his home in Lahore, a four-hour drive away.

Party members said Mr. Sharif had delivered an ultimatum to the senior coalition party, the Pakistan Peoples Party, led by Asif Ali Zardari, to consent to the return of the chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, within 72 hours, or the Mr. Sharif’s party would leave the government. Mr. Chaudhry was among some 60 judges suspended by Mr. Musharraf last year.

For complete story, clck here

Also See:
Delay in judges return puts coalition under strain - The News
Cracks appear in Pakistan's ruling coalition - Timesonline
Divisions emerge in Pakistan's ruling coalition - Associated Press

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