Pakistan's ruling coalition partners Pakistan People's Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz have 'agreed' to reinstate the judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf in 2007, PPP chairman Asif Ali Zaradari said on Wednesday.
"Both parties have agreed to reinstate the judges and the coalition is as strong as ever," Zaradari said in Dubai, where he met PML-N leader and former premier Nawaz Sharif to sort out the deadlock over the differences in reinstatement of judges.
The coalition partners had agreed to finalise modalities for restoring the judges in 30 days of assuming power. The deadline expired on Wednesday, forcing Sharif to fly to Dubai on Tuesday night for in-camera talks with Zardari, who had two days of inconclusive talks with PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif.
Before leaving for the talks, Sharif said his party insisted on restoration of judges by an executive order whereas PPP was in favour of a constitutional package.
This package must be delinked from restoration of judges, Sharif said. He also ruled out any compromise on the issue, saying the restoration of judges "is a matter of Pakistan's survival".
At the same time, he said, "We want this coalition to remain intact and we want dictatorship in Pakistan to be finished forever".
Sources said the talks ran into rough weather over two issues - the PPP's decision to link the restoration of the judges to a constitutional package for judicial reforms, and the tenure for deposed Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry once he is restored.
Both PPP and PML-N had agreed in March to push through a parliamentary resolution to restore the judges sacked by Musharraf in November 2007 when he declared a state of emergency.
"Our joining of the federal cabinet was conditional. We will review the decision and we may withdraw our ministers from the cabinet but that is still a supposition," PML-N spokesman Siddique-ul-Farooq had said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, opposition PML-Q leader Chaudhry Sujat Hussain met President Pervez Musharraf. Sources said Hussain briefed the president on his party's strategy in case the coalition splits.