Will Pervez Musharraf be sent into exile? | What next for Pakistan? | Pictures: Pervez Musharraf

Talks between leaders of Pakistani ruling coalition on the restoration of judges deposed by former president Pervez Musharraf remained inconclusive for the second day today as the future of the fractious alliance hangs in the balance.

Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of Benazir Bhutto and acting head of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and Nawaz Sharif, the former Prime Minister who leads the Pakistan Muslim League (N), met for the second day running in Islamabad, the capital, to continue discussions that analysts say will test the strength of their coalition.

The outcome of the talks, which will now go into a third day, could determine whether Mr Musharraf’s resignation yesterday heralds a new era of more stable, democratic government in Pakistan or leaves a vacuum at the helm of a Muslim country of 165 million people.

It will also decide whether the United States and its allies have a strong, unified government with which to cooperate in the campaign against Taleban and al-Qaeda militants on the border with Afghanistan.

"It is time for the elected government to show people their ballots were not wasted," said an editorial in The News, one of Pakistan’s leading daily newspapers.

"The coalition partners must demonstrate they are capable of insightful leadership, political wisdom and can live up to the task of guiding the country ... With Musharraf gone they no longer have an excuse for failure."

In one positive sign for the West, General Ashfaq Kayani, the new Army chief, rushed to Kabul, the Afghan capital, today for meetings with Afghanistan's leadership and, possibly, Nato commanders.

They have long been pressing Mr Musharraf to do more to prevent Pakistan-based militants from crossing into Afghanistan to attack Nato and Afghan forces.

However, the ruling coalition’s first priorities are to decide whether to restore the judges Mr Musharraf dismissed last year, whether to send him into exile or prosecute him for violating the constitution, and with whom to replace him.

The two parties, which have a long history of rivalry, disagree on almost every point, according to sources close to the two leaders.

The PML (N) wants all the judges re-appointed, while the PPP would prefer not to reinstate the former Chief Justice, Iftikhar Chaudhury, in case he overturns an amnesty granted by Mr Musharraf to Mr Zardari last year.

Mr Zardari favours granting an amnesty to Mr Musharraf, while Mr Sharif wants him tried for treason. Mr Zardari wants the new president to come from the PPP, and has even suggested his own sister, while Mr Sharif would prefer a more neutral figure, if not one of his own allies.

Neither side will back down easily, but both are acutely aware of the enormous public pressure to forge a quick consensus and move on to dealing with the country’s high inflation, power shortages and growing militancy in the tribal areas.

"At the very least, the politicians must show the same purpose and focus in dealing with the problems that they have demonstrated in taking on the president," said the Dawn newspaper in an editorial.

"The coalition must quickly nominate and elect a joint candidate as president and avoid lengthy political bargaining."

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