ISLAMABAD, June 14: Resumption of talks between the government and the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal on the contentious constitutional issues was still on cards, leaders in both the camps said on Friday.

Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-i-Azam) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, replying to newsmen’s questions about the resumption of the negotiations at the Parliament House committee room, said: “Talks is a continuous process which will continue.”

He refuted the opposition’s presumption that the government was deliberately delaying talks with the MMA with whom its negotiations had reached a crucial stage.

He also contested the opposition’s allegation that the team engaged in talks with the MMA lacked authority for taking vital decisions.

MMA Deputy Parliamentary Leader Hafiz Hussain Ahmed also expressed the hope that the government might contact the alliance for resumption of talks in a few days.

Talking to Dawn, he denied Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed’s allegation that the alliance was being used by other opposition parties.

He said the Pakistan People’s Party, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and the MMA disagreed on a number of points but they were united on the need for presentation of the Legal Framework Order in parliament to restore the elected house’s supremacy.

He said the method of protest in parliament had been changed to give the government a breathing space and a chance to go for a political solution to the problem.

Earlier, Chaudhry Shujaat presided over a meeting of 23 NWFP Assembly members belonging to his party and the PPP (Sherpao).

The meeting was held amidst rumours about the ruling party planning a move against the provincial government.

The reports saying that the coalition of anti-MMA parties was close to gaining a considerable number of votes to challenge the NWFP government, however, were denied by Chaudhry Shujaat.

The meeting devised a strategy for what Chaudhry Shujaat termed a ‘tit for tat’ reply to the opposition in the provincial assembly’s budget session.