May 7, 2003	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 4, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, May 6: The 11-member constitutional committee on Tuesday completed discussion on Article 58(2)(b) relating to presidential powers of dissolving the National Assembly, and started deliberations on article 152/A pertaining to the National Security Council.

On the first day of its deliberations on Monday, the committee had completed discussion on article 41(7) concerning election of president through referendum.

The remaining four points to be discussed are: Article 179 and 195 pertaining to extension of retirement age of superior courts’ judges, article 243 giving discretionary powers to president and addition of sixth schedule.

National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain presided over the proceedings which lasted about four hours. The committee will resume its proceedings at 11am on Wednesday.

Senator S.M. Zafar, who is representing the PML-Q on the committee, told Dawn that “we are in the process of holding broad discussions which may be called first reading of contentious items of the LFO. Every member is advancing the viewpoint of his party and when the first reading will be over the process of compiling a consensus document will begin”.

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the PML-N’s member of the committee, read out the joint statement to newsmen after conclusion of the session. He said it had been decided that at the first stage of deliberations all seven contentious items of the LFO would be discussed and every member would advance his own party’s stance on them.

He said that before the second stage started every member would be given chance to raise points of dissent which he thought were not covered in the seven points.

Accompanied by Syed Safwanullah of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Chaudhry Nisar said: “Every member is expressing his view point in an atmosphere of complete harmony and in a spirit of reaching a consensus. We all want that the democratic process is saved from any further mishap”.

The joint statement said “the committee deliberated in detail the positive and negative aspects of powers of dissolution of National Assembly that were conferred on president under article 58(2)(b). The members put across their points of view on various aspects of the said article.

“The committee started deliberations on the proposed insertion of article 152/A in the Constitution through LFO which provides for the establishment of the National Security Council with reference to its positive and negative effects on democracy, parliament and political process”.

Those who attended the meeting include Senators S.M. Zafar of PML-Q, Dr Sher Afgan Niazi, MNA PPP-Patriots; MQM MNA Syed Safwanullah, National Alliance MNA Riaz Hussain Pirzada, MMA MNAs Hafiz Hussain Ahmed and Liaquat Baloch, PPP-Parliamentarians MNA Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan and Senator Mohammad Lateef Khoso, and PML-N MNA Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.