The PPP on Thursday made a fresh bid for a rapprochement with estranged partner PML-N inviting it back to the government and asking it to withdraw its candidate in the Presidential election, pleas which were rebuffed by Nawaz Sharif-led party.

Asif Ali Zardari, PPP's co-Chairman and candidate in the Presidential election, on Thursday followed up on his party’s apology and called Sharif over telephone to put forward the requests but the efforts appeared to have borne no fruit.

PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal told reporters that Zardari referred to his apology extended to Sharif shortly after he broke away from the coalition on Monday as well as his comments being unable to restore the deposed judges due to "pressures from certain quarters."

Sharif thanked Zardari for his apology but said the PML-N would not like to rejoin the coalition "in the near future."

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Election Commission on Thursday accepted the nomination papers of Zardari, PML-N candidate Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui and PML-Q leader Mushahid Hussain Sayed for the presidential polls, setting the stage for a triangular contest.

Saeed-uz-Zaman declared that that he was in the race and would reach out all parties and electors for success in the election.

On the day of scrutiny of nomination papers, the poll body received no objections against the candidates put up by the three parties in the September 6 elections.

Though reports had suggested that the PML-N and PML-Q might raise objections to Zardari's candidature, the leaders of the two parties told Chief Election Commissioner Qazi Muhammad Farooq that they had nothing against the nomination of the PPP co-chairman.

The PML-N split from the ruling coalition after accusing Zardari of reneging on several agreements to reinstate dozens of judges deposed by former President Pervez Musharraf during last year's emergency rule.

Zardari had apologised to Sharif on Monday saying he had "hurt" his feelings and hinted that certain powers within and outside Pakistan were opposed to the restoration of the deposed judges.

Musharraf resigned on August 18 to avoid impeachment by the coalition, thus necessitating the holding of presidential polls.

In another indication that the PML-N is not keen on rejoining the coalition, senior party leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and asked him to accept the resignations of his party ministers, who had quit the Cabinet in May.

The PML-N minister had resigned after the government failed to meet two deadlines for reinstating the sacked judges. After the PML-N quit the coalition, the PPP has selectively reinstated judges reappointing eight of them in the Sindh High Court on Wednesday.