By Kim Barker

Tribune correspondent

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The Pakistani ruling coalition showed signs of fracture Tuesday, only a day after embattled President Pervez Musharraf resigned to avoid impeachment, raising questions of how the coalition will tackle the major crises facing the South Asian nation.

The major sticking point for the fragile coalition is the same as it has been for months—whether 41 senior judges fired by Musharraf when he declared emergency rule Nov. 3 should be restored and how they should be restored. After meeting for more than three hours on the judges Tuesday, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his supporters abruptly left the house of coalition partner Asif Ali Zardari.