April 1, 2003	Tuesday	Muharram 28, 1424

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KOHAT, March 31: Former president and chief of Millat Party, Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari has urged the government and the opposition to resolve the issue of Legal Framework Order through dialogue.

Parliament could then play its part in making laws and addressing people’s problems.

The 58 -2 (b), a part of Legal Framework Order, should be retained to check the performance of the government and block military intervention in extreme situations, Mr Leghari said at a Meet the Press programme here on Monday .

He dismissed the notion that the LFO issue would result in the country’s disintegration as had happened in president Yahya Khan’s time when similar amendments were made in the Constitution. At that time circumstances were different, he pointed out.

Bangladesh was then a victim of a number of injustices which had resulted in the partition  of Pakistan. He avoided going into further details.

He asked that political parties and other important state institutions be united to avoid giving people this impression.

High  powered  committees should be formed from both sides, Mr Leghari suggested, to discuss the Legal Framework Order at the highest level so that both the government and the opposition should be bound to accept any agreement as a result of the dialogue.

It was necessary, he said, to tackle the LFO issue wisely, once and for all so that the parliament performs its constitutional role.

The role of the National Security Council was that of an advisory body and it was not a supra parliament or cabinet, he clarified.

And that the opposition should carefully read the functions of this supreme body so that things became clear for them, he added.

Pakistan  could  only survive  by strengthening its economy with the formation of the WTO, Mr Leghari said. A growth rate of above 6 per cent should be aimed at rather than 3 per cent in the prevailing circumstances.

He avoided commenting on Asif Zardari’s long imprisonment saying he did not know anymore than what the press reported.