March 29, 2003	Saturday	Muharram 25, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, March 28: The controversial Legal Framework Order again generated heat in the Senate on Friday, when some pro-Musharraf senators tried to defend the document as a legitimate piece of legislation.

Earlier, Mian Raza Rabbani while inviting the attention of the chair on a point of order towards required change in seating arrangements in the Senate hall also referred to a press statement attributed to Gen Musharraf and Attorney General of Pakistan in which they had described the LFO as a part of the Constitution.

He said: “We want to make it clear that we do not accept and will not accept the LFO as a part of the Constitution as in our view the Supreme Court neither had the power nor had it empowered Gen Musharraf to bring amendments to the Constitution.”

Khalid Ranjha, a former minister in the Musharraf cabinet rose on a point of order to inform the upper house that a full bench had been set up in the Lahore High Court to examine the vires of the LFO and hence it would be better that it is not agitated on the floor of the house till a final verdict of the court comes out.

Asfandyar Wali Khan parliamentary leader of the ANP responded immediately, saying: “If this senate is a constitution making body then it will discuss any mater which relates to the constitution”. He advised the pro-Musharraf senators not to try to stop legislators from discussing legislation.

Nisar A. Memon another Musharraf loyalist and a former minister of information in his cabinet rose on the occasion and tried to support the LFO as he said: “When we discuss the amendment in Constitution (LFO) according to the Supreme Court’s instructions we do discuss the Constitution”.

He said: The Supreme Court had clearly allowed President Gen Musharraf to attain the objectives of change that had occurred on October 12, 1999 by bringing necessary amendments to the Constitution.

A number of opposition senators including PPP Parliamentarians Mian Raza Rabbani tried to pay to both the Musharraf loyalists (in the same coin) but chairman Senate Mohammedmian Soomro interrupted and reminded them of limitation of time for debate on Iraq.

Sanaullah Baloch of the Ponam however made it a point before starting debate on Iraq that the Constitution of 1973 provided basis of the federation which if altered by an individual will lose its credibility as a consensus document and a binding force.

He said if a person who is receiving salary from the exchequer comes and tries to distort a sacred national document then parliament was bound to stop him all the way.

He cautioned that if the consensus constitution was altered arbitrarily and the elected parliament is bypassed then the fate of Pakistan will not be too different from what was happening with Iraq.

Earlier, Mr Memon pointed out to the chair that the habit of starting the session late must be stopped as the Senate session which was to start at 10am could get under way only at 10.45 on Friday.

Abdul Durrani of JWP complained that Pakistan television in its report on Senate proceedings on Thursday omitted the names of senators who had spoke from Balochistan. He said this was discriminatory treatment with smaller province although all the federating units had equal participation and numerical strength in the upper house.

Chairman Senate agreed with the suggestion of a senator and said the Senate session must start at right time from today onwards.