Sharif threatens to quit ruling coalition

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif threatened Tuesday to leave the coalition now governing Pakistan over the issue of judicial independence.

Sharif heads the Pakistan Muslim League-N, one of the two major coalition partners. His supporters said that Asif Ali Zardari, head of the Pakistan Peoples Party and widower of Benazir Bhutto, has refused the PML-N demand that the chief justice ousted by Pervez Musharraf be restored to his position on the Supreme Court within three days, The New York Times reported.

Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry's ouster led to a revolt by Pakistani lawyers and judges against Musharraf, and his return was a key issue for Sharif during the parliamentary elections. Zardari reportedly fears that Chaudhry would refuse to abide by an amnesty agreement that shields him from corruption charges.

Sharif walked out of a meeting with Zardari in Islamabad. The fracture showed within hours of Musharraf's resignation as president.