Pakistan's president has lifted federal government rule in Punjab,
paving the way for the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-N party to
reinstall its government in the politically key province.
Pakistan's government revoked the central rule order on Monday, about one month after President Asif Ali Zardari instituted it.
Monday's announcement is an effort to mend a political rift that flared
last month when the Supreme Court upheld a ruling that banned
opposition leader Nawaz Sharif from elected office. The decision also
removed his brother, Shahbaz, from his post as chief minister of
Punjab.
The province is a political stronghold of the Sharifs.
In an address to parliament Saturday, President Zardari called for an
end to federal government rule there, and he said he would support a
government in Punjab headed by a PML-N candidate.
The Punjab assembly is to gather on Wednesday to elect its candidate for chief minister.