By Yangtze Yan

    ISLAMABAD, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- With both the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and its government in a quandary over the Supreme Court (SC)'s verdict against the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), cracks that have been visible in the party for months are poised to widen, local media reported Friday.

    The Pakistani apex court declared Wednesday that the much-debated amnesty NRO imposed by former ruler Pervez Musharraf was null and void and unconstitutional, which meant that up to 8,000 graft and other cases dating back to the 1990s have, or will soon be, reopened. President Asif Ali Zardari and several of his key aides are among those who benefited from the amnesty deal.

    The decision sharpened political tensions in Pakistan just as the United States and other Western allies want it to unite and fight against al-Qaeda and Taliban militants based along the Afghan border, local newspaper Dawn said.

    While it is generally agreed that President Zardari has immunity from prosecution as president, his opponents now plan to challenge his eligibility to hold the post. Zardari and his aides say any corruption charges against him are politically motivated and that he will not step down.

    Some analysts said Zardari may be able to take some of the sting out of his opponents' attacks, and ultimately survive in office, if he gives up many of the powers he inherited from Musharraf.

    A spokesman for Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Thursday that the government had "started consulting legal experts for the implementation" of the verdict, while earlier President Zardari convened a meeting of PPP's Central Executive Committee (CEC) to discuss the judgment's fallout.

    Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar told journalists that Zardari and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain had discussed the political situation over phone. The MQM chief and other senior members of his party were also among the beneficiaries of the NRO.

    The government gave a cautious response to the judgment, saying that it "respects" the verdict and was awaiting the detailed judgment.

    The Minister of State for Law, Afzal Sindhu, was quoted by Dawn saying that there was no imminent threat to the Presidency because under Article 41 of the Constitution a presidential election could not be challenged in any court.

    Political experts believe that besides President Zardari, the situation has also brought Prime Minister Gilani under pressure.

    The court verdict had heightened pressure on Gilani to remove the NRO-tainted ministers from his cabinet, they said.

    The dilemma for the prime minister is that if he asks these ministers to quit, the pressure will shift to Zardari, who is also his party's co-chairman.

    The prime minister has been striving for the past six months to cut the size of the cabinet and is likely to raise the issue in the party meeting.

    On Thursday, the Interior Ministry placed the names of 253 people, including Interior Minister Rehman Malik and NRO beneficiaries affected by the SC verdict, on the Exit Control List, and Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, whose name was also on the list, was stopped from leaving for China at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport Islamabad, according to the Daily Times reports.

    Strategic analyst Ayesha Siddiqa said that now the president can think about extending the deadline for repealing the 17th Amendment to be able to play a role in the extension or appointment of the army chief.

    "That's his last but temporary lifeline. He could buy some time by giving a cold shoulder to the United States, but these are temporary mechanisms. It will be a while before another opportunity comes along for the civilian stakeholders," Siddiqa said in a Dawn commentary.

Special Report: Pakistani Situation