Pakistan shaken as Sharif quits

After the fragile governing coalition ends the government will not fall, but will now rely on the support of new partners.

The former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif addresses a press conference in Islamabad on Aug 25, 2008.

ISLAMABAD // The chances of political stability in nuclear-armed Pakistan were dealt a heavy blow yesterday after Nawaz Sharif, a former prime minister, pulled his party out of the governing coalition. The move culminated months of political infighting between Mr Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N party and the Pakistan People's Party, whose co-chairman, Asi Ali Zardari, accepted a nomination on Saturday to replace Pervez Musharraf as president. Mr Sharif's walkout marked the failure of the parties to achieve something close to a national unity government, following the restoration of democracy in Pakistan with elections this February, which left no party with a majority. But the coalition was always fragile. The ousting of their common enemy, Mr Musharraf, just over a week ago, was meant to show a united front, but only succeeded in pushing the political crisis into a new phase.

Mr Sharif's PML-N will now join the opposition, blaming the PPP for failing to fulfil a pledge to reinstate judges fired by Mr Musharraf last November. Mr Sharif has also baulked at the nomination of Mr Zardari as the nominee for president. Following its withdrawal, Mr Sharif's party has now nominated its own candidate, Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui, a Supreme Court judge who retired in 2002, for the vote which is scheduled to take place on Sept 6. Islamabad now looks set to continue to be convulsed by further political infighting, rather than focusing on the challenge from Islamic extremists in its North West Frontier Province and the tribal territory that borders Afghanistan. That is likely to concern Pakistan's western partners, who want the government to tackle the Taliban-inspired militancy in the tribal area, known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), which is a base for the insurgency in Afghanistan. "Until there is a stable government in Islamabad, then the law and order situation in NWFP and Fata will not be solved," warned Asfandyar Wali Khan, the leader of the party which runs the provincial government of NWFP. "Saving lives should be the first issue, then we can look at the judges." The government will not fall for now, but the PPP is reliant on the support of new partners, including the MQM, a party that was close to Mr Musharraf. At a press conference in Islamabad, a bitter Mr Sharif brandished an agreement forged with the PPP earlier this month, which promised the restoration of the judiciary within 24 hours of ousting Mr Musharraf. It was the third deadline missed by the coalition for the judges, a cause that Mr Sharif has made the centre-point of his politics. The deal, said Mr Sharif, also included having a non-partisan new president, until the powers of the presidency were reduced. "We therefore feel that these repeated defaults and violations have forced us to withdraw our support from the coalition and sit on the opposition benches," Mr Sharif said. The sticking point was the deposed chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry, an activist judge that Mr Zardari was determined not to restore. The PPP leader perhaps feared a legal challenge to the legal amnesty he was granted by Mr Musharraf regarding corruption charges during the time his late wife, Benazir Bhutto, was prime minister. Mr Sharif's party said it was no longer possible to work with the PPP. "There's something called commitment," said Tehmina Daultana, a leading member of Mr Sharif's party. "Thrice you've had promises broken. Trust is very important in a coalition." Mr Sharif's party and the PPP were vicious rivals in the volatile 1990s, alternating in power, amid scheming that saw neither party's government complete its terms in office. That culminated in the army staging its fourth coup in 1999 - led by then army chief, Mr Musharraf, who described the period as the "dreadful decade of democracy". That power struggle, now revived, is likely to be first felt over the provincial government of Punjab, the most populous and politically important region, which is held by Mr Sharif's party. "Are we now a laughing stock for those who didn't want democracy in Pakistan? For them, it's a victory, but we're both losers," said Fauzia Wahab, a PPP member of parliament. "By fighting each other, you are actually defeating democracy." Mr Sharif's candidate for president, a non-party figure, could be a masterstroke, as Mr Siddiqui could attract significant support. While he is highly unlikely to defeat Mr Zardari, he could certainly embarrass the PPP leader. "Zardari had an absolute mind-block on Chaudhry," said Ikram Sehgal, a political analyst. "He will have to do a lot of manipulation to win this one." Mr Sharif promised to play the role of a "constructive" opposition but many predict that he will now try to force an election that he believes he can win. The key to which party comes out on top will be who manages to co-opt the members of parliament who belong to Pakistan Muslim League-Q, the main party that supported Mr Musharraf. @Email:[e-mail]