Pakistan’s ruling coalition alliance last night appeared on the brink of collapse after the main junior partner summoned its key politicians to discuss on Monday the future of its support for the government.

“The future of the alliance is at stake. We have called our members of parliament to discuss where we go” said Siddique-ul-Farooq of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) after a weekend of growing tensions between his party and the Pakistan People’s party (PPP) of the late prime minister Benazir Bhutto, which is now led by Asif Ali Zardari, her widower.