Nine ministers from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have submitted their resignations after two main parties failed to reach a consensus on the issue of deposed judges.
In his first public comments on the split in the coalition, Pakistan People's Party (PPP)'s Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said Wednesday that he wanted PML-N' Chief Nawaz Sharif to remain a partner, and that he was still committed to restoring the judges and negotiations would continue.
Despite Zardari's efforts to save the coalition government, the crisis caused by the rift over the sacked judges is far from over, analysts said.
Fundamental differences
Sharif told a news conference in Islamabad on Monday that the PML-N would withdraw from the coalition government because the PPP could not keep its promise to restore the deposed judges.
According to a joint statement issued by the PML-N and the PPP on March 9, the judges, who were sacked after a state of emergency was declared in Pakistan on Nov. 3 last year, should be restored by a parliamentary resolution within 30 days after the coalition government was formed.
However, the two parties failed to reach an agreement on the issue although talks had been held in Dubai, Pakistan and London since the end of April.
Safeguarding their own interest was the fundamental reason why the two partners were at odds over the issue, analysts said.
After Nov. 3, a Provisional Constitutional Order and a National Reconciliation Ordinance that granted amnesty to politicians who faced charges within a specific period of time were promulgated in Pakistan.
