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The by-election is set for Thursday but the government will also seek a postponement of the poll.

The 3-month-old coalition is led by the Pakistan People's Party and includes Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N party.

On Monday, a high court in Sharif's hometown of Lahore barred him from contesting for a lower house seat because of a prior conviction, but Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Law Minister Farooq Naek informed the National Assembly the decision would be appealed, Dawn newspaper reported.

The coalition has been under strain as the two main partners have been squabbling over issues like the reinstatement of judges dismissed during the previous regime. The latest court decision had threatened to widen their differences.

Gilani, asserting his government's resolve to maintain the supremacy of the constitution, said, "We want such decisions which are acceptable to the people ... not the ones which mar their credibility", the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

Sharif's criminal convictions stem from the 1999 military coup that ousted him from power.

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