March 6, 2003	Thursday	Muharram 2, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, March 5: Information minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said government was expecting a boisterous response from the opposition on the Legal Framework Order (LFO).

The minister told reporters at the National Assembly on Wednesday that the opposition parties should not engage themselves in petty issues rather they should start debate on Pakistan’s foreign policy on Iraq.

He said according to the schedule the National Assembly debate on foreign policy was supposed to be started on Wednesday’s session, but due to unparliamentary attitude of the opposition parties, the issue remained undiscussed.

“In the current situation, I think the issue of Iraq was one of the important issues of the region which should have been discussed and opposition should have been given fruitful suggestions to the government to take decision whether the government should support Iraq or not,” he said.

The agitation took place in the session of the National Assembly when the leaders of the opposition parties refused to accept the copies of the amended Constitution in which the LFO had been incorporated.

The minister said all members of the National Assembly were fully aware that the last general elections were held under the LFO and under the same law all members of the assembly became voters in the election of the prime minister.