Pakistani parties set to miss deadline on judges

By Kamran Haider

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A deadline for Pakistan's coalition partners to reinstate judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf was expected to pass on Monday, rekindling speculation the government might collapse.

The restoration of the judges has monopolized the attention of the main coalition partners, the party of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and that of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, since they won a February 18 election.

Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's widower and her political successor, held talks with Sharif in London on Saturday to try to bridge their differences over the issue.

Richard Boucher, U.S. assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, met the two leaders in London on Sunday although a U.S. embassy spokeswoman said reports the meeting concerned the judges were unfounded.

The reinstatement of the judges Musharraf dismissed after imposing six weeks of emergency rule in November could bring about the fall of the president, a major ally in the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism.

The failure of the coalition partners to agree on restoring the judges could lead to the collapse of their government.

"It looks now it will be missed," Minister of Education Ahsan Iqbal, who is a top official of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) party, said on Sunday of the Monday deadline.

"If the deadline is not met then the PML-N will be forced to review its decision to stay in the cabinet," he said.