10:42pm UK, Monday August 25, 2008

Alex Crawford,
Asia correspondent

Former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif is quitting the coalition government and his party is following him, he has said.

Nawaz Sharif (left) has quit the the coalition formed with Asif Zardari’s (right) party

ri”We do this with a heavy heart,” he told a news conference in Islamabad.

“We have been forced to quit the coalition.”

He said he was making the move because the leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Asif Zardari – who is Benazir Bhutto‘s widower – has reneged on promises to reinstate judges sacked under the Pervez Musharraf regime.

Mr Zardari is thought to be reticent to re-appoint the judges as he suspects they will reinvestigate past corruption charges against him.

Meanwhile, Mr Sharif‘s PML-N party also announced their nominee for president – Saed Uz Zaman Siddiqui – who will run against Mr Zardari, the PPP’s nominee.

This does not mean the fall of the government or an election, as the PPP can do and will do deals with other smaller parties such as the MQM.

“We don’t want to be instrumental in overthrowing any government. We don’t have any such intentions,” Mr Sharif added.

However, it does mean the two largest parties are at loggerheads – and this does not bode well for immediate stability in Pakistan.

The date set late last week for the presidential election will remain September 6.

Mr Musharraf resigned as president a week ago to avoid impeachment charges, which the ruling coalition had prepared against him.