Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif heads to Dubai Tuesday in a final effort to break a political deadlock on reinstating judges ousted under President Pervez Musharraf.

Pakistan's ruling coalition leaders Asif Ali Zardari (l) and Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad, 22 Apr 2008

Mr. Sharif, head of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, is scheduled to meet with Asif Ali Zardari in the Gulf emirate Wednesday.  Mr. Sharif and Zardari, the leader of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), head Pakistan's ruling coalition government.

The PPP wants to link reinstatement of the judges to constitutional reforms, while Mr. Sharif wants them reinstated unconditionally.

Coalition leaders have set a Wednesday deadline to reach an agreement on the issue.

President Musharraf dismissed roughly 60 of Pakistan's high court judges, including supreme court justices, when he imposed a state of emergency last November.

The PPP and PML-N formed a coalition government, after the parties won the most seats in Pakistan's parliamentary election in February.  President Musharraf's former ruling Pakistan Muslim League party came in a distant third.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.