The crisis encircling Pakistan's fragile ruling coalition reached a boiling point on Sunday with PPP refusing to comply with PML-N's demand on reinstating sacked judges within a deadline and the ally also not enthusiastic about supporting Asif Ali Zardari for Presidency.

PPP Chairman Zardari said his understanding with the PML-N on reinstating the judges deposed by ex-President Pervez Musharraf during emergency rule in 2007 was not "sacrosanct" and could be modified to suit the evolving political scenario.

Former premier Nawaz Sharif, the chief of PML-N who has set a Monday deadline for the sacked judges' restoration, is reluctant to commit his party's support for Zardari's candidature for presidency unless the post is stripped of sweeping powers to dissolve Parliament and dismiss Premier.

Following Zardari's comments on the understanding over the judges issue, a PML-N spokesman said efforts by a committee to draft a resolution for reinstating the deposed judges had become "irrelevant".

Understandings between political parties cannot be "termed as agreements" and agreements and declarations between the PPP and PML-N on restoring the judges are not holy scriptures that cannot be "altered or modified" to suit political developments, Zardari told BBC Urdu in an interview.

Zardari refused to set a timeframe for restoring the judges.

No messy fights

He also said the PPP had "no reservations" against Musharraf staying on in Pakistan following his resignation last week as the party does not believe in revenge.

In a separate interview with Newsweek, Zardari said Musharraf was "welcome to stay" in Pakistan and Parliament would decide whether he would get immunity from future prosecution.

Though there was no agreement between the PPP and Musharraf before his resignation, there was "a general understanding that we are not looking to (get) into any messy fights," he said.

Zardari said the future President could grant Musharraf a pardon. He also said he thought the President should not have the power to dissolve Parliament.

'Tools of deception'

The PML-N reacted angrily to Zardari's comments, with party spokesman Siddique-ul-Farooq saying it appeared that the PPP wanted to get "maximum power".

If agreements between political parties are not honoured they become "tools of deception", Farooq said.

The PPP had also not yet responded to PML-N chief Sharif's query on whether the deposed judges would be reinstated by Monday, Farooq said.

"There has been no feedback but they have made their response clear in Mr Zardari's interview," he told PTI.

The PML-N would also not participate in the meeting of the committee drafting the resolution to be tabled in Parliament for restoring the judges as the process had now become "irrelevant", Farooq said.

"Since Mr Zardari has not fulfilled his promise and he has backed out, we are free to take our own decisions," he said.

Even if the PML-N were to pull out of the ruling coalition, Zardari is widely expected to win the presidential poll with the backing of lawmakers of smaller parties like the Awami National Party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Jamaat-e-Islami and Muttahida Qaumi Movement and independent and tribal parliamentarians.

Zardari's candidature

A meeting of the ANP's top leadership held on Sunday in Peshawar decided to back Zardari's candidature even though the party had on Saturday said it was not taken into confidence by the PPP about the choice of its presidential candidate.

The PML-N's efforts to reinstate the deposed judges suffered yet another setback when Zardari said the PPP believed former Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had "become too politicised".

Zardari held a two-hour meeting with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to discuss the future of coalition and key issues like the restoration of the judges. Sharif too held discussions with the top leadership of the PML-N at his residence in Lahore to chalk out his party's future course of action.

Meanwhile, a close aide of Sharif, said the party leaders would meet on Monday to decide whether to remain in the coalition government or not, besides discussing the issue of Musharraf's successor. "General opinion in the party is in favour of parting ways," Pervez Rasheed told AP.

Another Sharif aide Javed Hashmi told the agency that he was willing to contest the presidential election.

Also Read:
Pakistan coalition heading for split?