ISLAMABAD, June 14: The British government would like to see the Legal Framework Order (LFO) issue resolved as it was creating a virtual paralysis of the Pakistan Parliament, said the new British High Commissioner Mark Lyall Grant here on Saturday.
The high commissioner made this statement in response to a question whether Britain had any specific concerns vis-a-vis the current domestic situation in Pakistan.
“We would like to see the question of the LFO resolved because clearly that is leading to a certain paralysis of the Parliament. If the issue of the LFO was resolved then the relations between the government and the Parliament would be better and the Parliament would operate in a more effective way than it is at the moment,” he said.
The British High Commissioner was talking to journalists at his residence at a special Press briefing on President Pervez Musharraf’s forthcoming visit to the UK.
On the prospects of defence cooperation the British High Commissioner said since the resumption of defence talks between Pakistan and Britain about 250 to 300 export licenses had been approved by the British government for defence equipment sales to Pakistan.
Asked if the British Prime Minister Tony Blair would welcome General Musharraf or President Musharraf, he said after a pause: “I think he will be welcoming President Musharraf.”
At the outset High Commissioner Mark Grant outlined the main elements of President Musharraf’s programme in UK and the themes of the bilateral talks.
During the upcoming UK visit of the president, which would be his first official visit, discussion would be held on five main themes, including bilateral relations, defence cooperation, commercial links, and judicial cooperation, cooperation on terror and drugs and people-to-people links.
High Commissioner Mark Grant saw the recent peace overtures by Pakistan and India as a “new opportunity for progress to be made” saying these confidence-building measures could lead to a full dialogue.
He said the British government welcomed the commitment shown by leaders on both sides to improve their relations and begin a substantive dialogue on all the issues including Kashmir.
The British High Commissioner said the question of deployment of Pakistani troops in Iraq was likely to figure in talks between the two leaders, saying all support would be welcome from the international community to the stabilization of Iraq.
Referring to the UK government’s position on Pakistan’s membership in the Commonwealth he said: “Britain would very much welcome Pakistan’s resumption of the membership,” adding: “but that is not a decision for us, it is a decision for all the members of the Commonwealth.” However, he said a lot will depend on what developments there are in the transitional democracy in Pakistan.
