The ruling coalition on Saturday appeared to be on the verge of collapse amid
serious rupture on the issue of restoration of deposed judges and Asif Zardari’s
surprise announcement as PPP’s official presidential candidate without consulting
other partners.

PML-N chief and former premier Nawaz Sharif threatened to part ways with the PPP unless it declared in unequivocal terms that judges would be reinstated on Monday.

Sharif reacted angrily to Zardari’s brinkmanship as he sent senior PPP leaders to meet him in Lahore today seeking support for his candidature and calling for deferring the judges’ issue till his election.

Sharif was also peeved by the announcement of a tight election schedule sensing a game plan to upstage partners and rivals. It requires filing of nomination papers on Tuesday allowing little time to others to deliberate and plan a response.

But the former premier offered to forego what he claimed was his party’s right to name a president as major component of the coalition considering that the PPP occupies two other key offices of prime minister and speaker.

He said for him restoration of judges was of paramount importance and he would not feel overly scared of Zardari appropriating all power.

He, however, noted that Zardari wants to become president armed with authority enjoyed by Pervez Musharraf under the 17th amendment to dismiss assemblies and make key appointments like naming services chiefs, governors and judges which he said should rest with the prime minister.

Zardari has mustered enough votes to get elected on September 6, irrespective of Nawaz Sharif's stance, with the support of the MQM, ANP, JUI, independents and the PML-Q forward group.

But he is wary of Sharif whipping up public backlash if he reneges on judges' issue. By asking him to defer the issue till after his election, Zardari ostensibly tried to use it as a bargaining chip.

“The PPP must come out with categorical declaration that judges would be reinstated by Monday”, Sharif said in Lahore warning that otherwise his party would determine whether to stay in the coalition or not.

He said Zardari had pledged to restore judges within 24 hours after Musharaf’s impeachment or resignation.

Sharif has summoned an urgent meeting of senior party leaders in Islamabad on Monday to decide the future course of action.

Some of them who are currently visiting abroad, in particular Javed Hashmi, were directed to interrupt their schedule and return immediately,

Earlier on Friday, top leaders of smaller components of the coalition, Asfandyar Wali Khan of ANP and Maulana Fazlur Rehman, secured agreement on a compromise formula under which a resolution declaring Musharraf’s action of November 3, 2007, as void was to be moved in the National Assembly on Monday and adopted, preferably, by Wednesday paving the way for restoration of judges the same day.

Subsequent moves and pronouncements by PPP leader betrayed Zardari’s designs to shelve at least the return of deposed chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry against whom he has lot of personal grouse.

The PML-N today leaked a document signed by Zardari on August 7 on an
oath on Holy Quran that judges would be reinstated within 24 hours of
Musharraf’s resignation.

Fazlur Rehman appearing in a TV show last night disclosed that Zardari had confided to him that his hands are tied on judges’ issue because of commitments made to certain forces who facilitated Musharraf’s resignation, an apparent reference to the army, the US administration besides incumbent chief justice Hamid Dogar who declined to stay impeachment proceedings against him.