ISLAMABAD (AFP)
Former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif said Monday that his party had decided to quit the government over differences regarding the reinstatement of judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf.
All ministers from his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party will resign from their posts on Tuesday, but the move will not destabilize the country's new-found democracy, Sharif told a news conference.
"Our ministers will submit their resignations to the prime minister tomorrow," he said after a crucial meeting of his party.
However, he said the PML-N would not take any decision that would strengthen what he called a "dictatorship" under Musharraf.
"We want the unconditional, dignified and honorable return of the judges," he said, adding that the PML-N would not rock the new government. "We will not sit on opposition benches for the time being," he said.
Sharif also announced he will contest a by-election on June 26 and vowed to continue the struggle for the judges' reinstatement.
PML-N had nine ministers in the 24-member federal cabinet, formed six weeks ago with slain former premier Benazir Bhutto's People's Power Party (PPP) after the parties formed a coalition government after defeating allies of Musharraf in February 18 elections. |
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Failed talks The decision to quit was taken at a meeting of the parliamentary party and the central working committee of the PML-N, chaired by Sharif.
He called the talks after negotiations in London with Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of the PPP, failed to bridge their differences over the restoration of some 60 judges.
Sharif expressed disappointment after the talks failed, adding that he had made sincere efforts but the deadlock could not be broken.
"I am personally anguished over pulling out of the coalition government," he said.
Sharif had given a May 12 deadline for reinstatement of the judges fired by Musharraf under emergency rule in November.
May 12 marks the first anniversary of clashes between supporters of sacked chief judge Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Musharraf in Karachi in which more than 40 people were killed.
Reinstatement of the judges is likely to cause a major headache for embattled former army chief Musharraf, a key US ally, who considers them hostile to his rule. |
