The party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is poised to quit Pakistan's ruling coalition unless judges ousted by ex-President Pervez Musharraf are reinstated by a Monday deadline, Sharif aides said.
A Sharif lieutenant also volunteered Sunday to contest the election for Musharraf's successor, raising the prospect of a divisive race against Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Since forcing Musharraf to quit, Pakistan's coalition government has been split over who should replace him and how to reverse his most draconian actions.
The rift has Pakistan's voters and foreign backers worried that the government is too distracted to tackle rising Islamic militancy and serious economic problems.
Pervez Rasheed, a close aide of Sharif, said the party's leaders would meet Monday to decide whether to remain in the five-month-old coalition government or join the opposition.
"General opinion in the party is in favor of parting ways," Rasheed told The Associated Press.
Sharif says the coalition must agree on the judges by Monday if it is to resolve its differences in time for federal and provincial lawmakers to select the new head of state on Sept. 6.
Musharraf purged the Supreme Court during a burst of emergency rule in November.
Zardari and Sharif pledged to bring back the judges quickly after routing Musharraf's allies in February elections.
But a debate on how to solve Pakistan's constitutional mess quickly bogged down in political calculations, including whether stalwart U.S. ally Musharraf should face trial.
Sharif, who accuses Musharraf of treason, says Zardari reneged on a written agreement to restore the judges within 24 hours of Musharraf's Aug. 18 decision to quit rather than face impeachment charges.
Zardari, head of the main ruling Pakistan People's Party, has accused the judges of being too political, and analysts say he may also fear that the justices could reopen old corruption cases against him.
The People's Party has "arbitrarily opted for breaking up the coalition," said Ahsan Iqbal, a Sharif party spokesman.
Rasheed said Monday's party meeting would also discuss the race to succeed Musharraf.
Zardari announced his candidacy on Saturday and appears assured of victory since a major opposition party has backed him for the post.
That support also suggests that Zardari has enough allies to keep control of the government and avert fresh elections, even if Sharif withdraws from the coalition.
Javed Hashmi, one of Sharif's most senior lieutenants, volunteered Sunday to run against Zardari.
"I am also willing to contest the presidential election, but I am bound to obey what the party decides," Hashmi told the AP.
Sharif said Saturday that his party will only back Zardari for president if the post is stripped of key powers accumulated by Musharraf, such as the right to dissolve Parliament and appoint the chiefs of Pakistan's powerful military.
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