Pakistan asks court to suspend ban on Sharifs

Pakistan's government asked the Supreme Court on Saturday to suspend a ruling last month that banned two opposition leaders from elected office and sparked a political crisis.

The request was a step towards dispelling mistrust between the government, led by President Asif Ali Zardari's Pakistan People's Party, and former prime minister and opposition leader Nawaz Sharif. The government, faced with huge protests, had on March 14 offered to appeal against a Feb. 25 court ruling which barred Sharif and his politician brother, Shahbaz, from elected office. (Reuters)