May 1 (Bloomberg) -- Pakistan's ruling coalition ended a deadlock over how to reinstate judges fired by President Pervez Musharraf last year, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, a leader of the Pakistan Muslim League, said.

A meeting with Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party, concluded with an agreement today, and ``details will be given tomorrow'' in the city of Lahore, Sharif told reporters in Dubai. The coalition leaders had been divided over the legal and constitutional means needed to restore the judges to their posts.

The ruling parties cut Musharraf out of decision-making when they took office after their victory in elections in February. Sharif called for an April 30 deadline for the judges to be reinstated by a parliamentary resolution, a move that would allow the government to continue curtailing Musharraf's powers, including that of dissolving Parliament.

The president dismissed 60 judges including Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in November as the Supreme Court prepared to rule on whether Musharraf's re-election for a second five-year term the previous month was valid. A restored court may resume the challenge to Musharraf.

Chaudhry, who hasn't said whether he plans to reopen the case on Musharraf's re-election, became a focus for anti- Musharraf protesters after he was first fired in March 2007. He was reinstated by his colleagues in July.

Emergency Rule

Musharraf dismissed Chaudhry for a second time, when he imposed emergency rule for six weeks on Nov. 3, placing Chaudhry and other judges under house arrest.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani ordered them released in March when he was confirmed in his post by Parliament.

Sharif and Zardari agreed on March 9 to reinstate the judges through a parliamentary resolution. Zardari, in an interview with GEO television on April 28, then said his party favored restoring the judges through changes to the constitution which would have to be approved by two-thirds of lawmakers.

The PPP's proposed change to the constitution would curb the chief justice's powers and limit his term to four years, the News newspaper said on April 27. Currently, there isn't a limit on the term of chief justice, though he has to retire at 65.

A constitutional amendment would be binding on the government. A resolution approved by lawmakers wouldn't be binding and Gillani would have to follow it with an order for the judges to return to their posts. Gillani is from the PPP, the biggest party in the coalition and in parliament.

Zardari, the widower of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, said he doesn't accept Sharif's deadline and indicated it may take at least 15 days for the reinstatement to be achieved through a constitutional change. Sharif and Zardari aren't members of Pakistan's 342-member National Assembly.

To contact the reporter on this story: Farhan Sharif in Karachi at fsharif2@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 1, 2008 10:22 EDT