ISLAMABAD, May 13: A change of heart on the part of Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Nawaz Sharif on the issue of retaining judges of the superior courts appointed after Nov 3, 2007, seems to be one of the main causes of the break-up of the 43-day-old coalition government.

The PML-N leadership blamed the breakdown of the talks in London with the Pakistan People’s Party on the latter’s insistence to retain all the PCO judges while Mr Sharif wanted them to be taken at best as ad-hoc judges.

During their earlier talks in Dubai, the leadership of the two parties had agreed on reinstating the deposed judges while retaining those who had taken oath under the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO).

Speaking at a news conference in Lahore after returning from Dubai on May 2, Mr Sharif had announced that his party had reached an understanding with the PPP leadership under which the pre-emergency judiciary would be restored on May 12 in accordance with the Murree Declaration. He said the PML-N had to make some compromises, particularly when it agreed to retain the PCO judges in return for PPP’s cooperation. He had also said that a constitutional package for ‘judicial reforms’ would be introduced but it would not be linked with the resolution.

Mr Sharif had stated the goal of the PML-N was to get the sacked judges restored and PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari had accepted its demand, which rendered the issue of the sitting judges insignificant.

However, while announcing their decision to quit the cabinet of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday, PML-N leaders said the London talks had deadlocked on the issue of retaining the post-Nov 3 judges.

When a reporter asked PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif about the reason for the failure of London talks, he said his party was not in favour of retaining those judges who had been appointed after Nov 3 and who had taken oath under the PCO. The PML-N leader said his party did not “recognise these judges as they had committed treachery to the Constitution”.

Senior PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who was also a member of the party’s team which held negotiations with the PPP in Dubai and London, said on Tuesday that his party had agreed to PPP’s proposal to retain the PCO judges only after getting a firm assurance that the resolution for the judges’ reinstatement would be tabled in the National Assembly on May 12.

Speaking at a news conference after submitting his resignation as senior minister, he said the party had now reverted to its initial stance since the PPP had failed to table the resolution by the agreed deadline of May 12.

When contacted, PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar refused to comment on the issue, saying that his party was going to resume dialogue with the PML-N leadership in a couple of days and they did not want any bitterness at this point. He said PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari was expected to contact the PML-N leadership after his return from London.

Mr Babar said Mr Zardari would hold a news conference on Wednesday after presiding over a meeting of the party’s MNAs, senators, MPAs and members of the central executive committee and federal council from Punjab.