Sharif sets new deadline on judges

Former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif agreed yesterday to a debate in parliament next week on the restoration of judges deposed last year, putting back a deadline on a demand that could split the ruling coalition.

A day after militants carried out their most deadly strike against the military, killing 67 people in suicide blasts outside the main defense industry complex, coalition parties were still preoccupied with the controversy over the judges.

Investors and allies hoped the resignation of close US friend Pervez Musharraf as president on Monday would end wrangling that has distracted attention from the nuclear-armed country's deteriorating economy and militant violence.