Sharif party quits coalition

Former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif pulled his party out of the ruling coalition yesterday, deepening a political crisis that has diverted government attention from pressing security and economic problems.

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.

"We therefore feel that these repeated defaults and violations have forced us to withdraw our support from the ruling coalition and sit on the opposition benches," Sharif said.