Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has pulled his party out of the ruling coalition, bringing the Pakistani government to the brink of collapse just a week after the resignation of President General Pervez Musharraf. Sharif said his main coalition partner, the party of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, which leads the coalition, had repeatedly broken promises on resolving a judicial dispute and on who should be the next president.

Nawaz Sharif: “We joined the coalition with full sincerity and commitment to steer Pakistan towards full restoration of democracy, independent judiciary and constitutional governance. Unfortunately, all promises made with us were not honored.”