Islamabad  - The second-largest party in Pakistan's ruling coalition on Thursday reinforced its threat to quit the fractured alliance if the reinstatement of judges dismissed by former president Pervez Musharraf was further delayed.

"The future of the alliance will be in danger if the judges are not restored immediately," said Siddiqul Farooq, a spokesman for the Pakistan-Muslim League-Nawaz
(PML-N).

This was a reiteration of PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif's reported statement that his party would have "no choice but to sit in the opposition" if the judges, including deposed chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, were not reinstated before the weekend.

The strongest remarks came as the minnow partners in the governing coalition floundered to save the alliance from a break-up by reconciling the differences between the PML-N and the ruling Pakistan people's Party (PPP), which is leading the coalition.

Asfandyar Wali of the Awami National Party (ANP) and Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) along with some parliamentarians from the tribal region were yet to announce any achievement made in their talks.

The junior leaders on Tuesday sought three days' time to mediate between the senior partners and come up with a suggestion that could help resolve the contentious issue amicably.

Sharif wants immediate restoration of the judges through an executive order preceded by a parliamentary resolution, whereas PPP head Asif Ali Zardari favours a reforms package that is believed to include indemnity for Musharraf.

Some reports suggested Zardari is also not in favour of reinstating Chaudhry, who could take up challenges to a controversial law under which Zardari was acquitted in a number of corruption cases.

The coalition is scheduled to hold decisive talks on Friday. Earlier, the leaders have decided that the judges would be restored immediately after the impeachment of Musharraf, who resigned on Monday to escape his trial.

A cabinet member from Shrif's party, Ahsan Iqbal, on Thursday said: "It is imperative to honour the commitments made to the nation by the coalition, otherwise it will lose its strength."

"General Musharraf is gone and his legacy should also go," Iqbal added.

The high drama continues as the PPP seems more focused on the upcoming election of the president and consolidating its position to move along even if Sharif's party pulls out of the coalition.

Salman Taseer, the PPP-affiliated governor of Pakistan's largest Punjab province where the PML-N is in power, on Thursday said Zardari would be proposed as the party candidate for the presidential election.

Taseer's remarks came following an overnight meeting of the PPP that reposed confidence in the leadership of Zardari who they described as "the most suitable person for the post." (dpa)