Partners in Pakistan's governing coalition plan to meet again Thursday, for talks on how to reinstate deposed judges after failing to meet their April 30 deadline to resolve the issue.

Nawaz Sharif, left, and Asif Ali Zardari, right, talk to reporters in Dubai, 30 Apr 2008

Officials said the two parties, led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, made progress in Wednesday's talks in Dubai on how to restore the judges ousted by President Pervez Musharraf last year.

A representative of Mr. Sharif's party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, said the two leaders will make a final decision Thursday.

Zardari's Pakistan People's Party wants to link reinstatement to constitutional reforms - among them, narrowing the powers of top judges, including chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

But Mr. Sharif's party wants the judges reinstated unconditionally. He warned Tuesday the fate of the coalition could depend on this issue.

Last November, President Musharraf dismissed roughly 60 of Pakistan's high court judges during a state of emergency.

But Mr. Musharraf's former ruling Pakistan Muslim League party came in a distant third in February's parliamentary elections, and the new coalition government vowed to reinstate the judges within 30 days of taking office.

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