Leaders of Pakistan's new government are to hold urgent talks on Wednesday on the country's sacked judges, in the coalition's first real test.
The leaders of Pakistan's ruling coalition are to hold urgent talks on meeting their pledge to restore judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf.
Former PM Nawaz Sharif will meet Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Asif Zardari, at whose Dubai residence talks are to take place.
PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif and the PPP's Asif Zardari are meeting over lunch in Dubai, officials said.
The month-old government's deadline to reinstate the judges ends on Wednesday.
After winning recent elections, both parties agreed to reinstate the judges by the end of April.
The sides differ over how much power to give to judges whom President Musharraf sacked under emergency rule last year.
Failure to resolve differences over the issue has put the month-old coalition under strain.
Failure to resolve differences over the issue has put the month-old coalition under strain.
'Stalemate'
Mr Sharif will meet Mr Zardari and make a "last-ditch effort to convince him to re-instate judges", party secretary Imran Khwaja told AFP news agency.
Before his departure, Mr Sharif said he wanted the coalition to stay together but warned of disastrous consequences for democracy in Pakistan if the judges were not restored as agreed earlier by the two leaders.
Before his departure, Mr Sharif warned of disastrous consequences for democracy in Pakistan if the judges were not restored.
Pakistani media reports suggest that Mr Zardari wanted to link the reinstatement of judges to a set of comprehensive constitutional reforms.
Political stalemate
Nawaz Sharif is going to Dubai to break the deadlock in the talks - there is stalemate PML-N spokesman Ahsan Iqbal
The PML-N leader will meet Mr Zardari and make a "last-ditch effort to convince him to reinstate judges", party secretary Imran Khwaja told AFP news agency.
The PPP and PML-N swept to victory in parliamentary elections in February following the assassination of Mr Zardari's wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, in December.
They went on to forge a post-election alliance with a promise that judges sacked under a six-week state of emergency late last year would be reinstated.
President Musharraf sacked top judges in November
But since then divisions have emerged. Mr Sharif's trip to Dubai comes at a time of apparent stalemate. The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Karachi says it is difficult to say whether differences over the judges issue could bring the coalition down, given the position the two parties have taken so far.
Our correspondent says there is considerable pressure on both sides to restore the judges, but there is equal pressure on them to work together to ease people's economic hardships.
Even if the PML-N decided to leave the government, other coalition partners would be unlikely to follow suit, our correspondent says.
Differences
President Musharraf sacked the judges when it became clear that the Supreme Court was preparing to rule on whether his re-election earlier in 2007 was legal.
Mr Chaudhry became a focal point for anti-Musharraf forces
The court was also due to rule on whether an amnesty he granted Ms Bhutto in a number of corruption cases was legal. Mr Sharif was not covered under the amnesty.
Discussions between the two main governing parties have stalled over important details.
Discussions between the two main governing parties have stalled over important details.
The PML-N wants an unconditional restoration of the sacked judges.
The PML-N wants the unconditional restoration of the sacked judges.
It hopes parliament will declare President Musharraf's state of emergency an illegal act, paving the way for his impeachment.
It argues that the judges who replaced those that were sacked should lose their jobs, because it says they acted unlawfully in upholding President Musharraf's declaration of emergency rule in 2007. The sacking of the judges has been the focus of many protests
The PML-N argues that the judges who replaced the sacked chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry, and his colleagues should lose their jobs because it says they acted unlawfully in upholding the declaration of emergency rule.
Mr Zardari wants to link their re-instatement to a comprehensive raft of constitutional reforms, which he argues are needed to prevent abuses that have occurred in the past.
Members of the PPP disagree with this view, saying most of the sacked judges upheld President Musharraf's 1999 coup and should be treated no differently.
However, coalition insiders say Mr Zadari is also worried that, if restored, the judges could undo an amnesty deal that cleared him of corruption charges.
The party wants to link their reinstatement to a comprehensive raft of constitutional reforms redefining the powers of parliament, president, prime minister and top judiciary.
The judges, including the chief justice of the Supreme Court, were sacked after President Musharraf declared a state of emergency.
It would like to see most of the sacked judges reinstated, but without the current incumbents losing their jobs.
At the time, the Supreme Court was preparing to rule on whether his re-election earlier that year was legal.
Correspondents say that there have been discussions about whether all of the judges should be restored with the exception of Mr Chaudhry, who gained a reputation for judicial activism.
