LAHORE, Nov 29: The government has agreed to table the constitutional bill in parliament before Dec 18 and to make a cut-off date for shedding of uniform by Gen Pervez Musharraf part of the proposed package, claimed a central leader of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA).

“Two major developments have taken place during recent discussions with the government’s negotiation team,” said MMA’s deputy secretary-general Liaquat Baloch while talking to Dawn over phone here on Saturday.

“The first is that the government has agreed to table the proposed bill in parliament with the support of the MMA and the second is incorporating of our demand in it that article 63-D of the Constitution shall become operative by Dec 31, 2004.”

The article bars a government employee from holding any public office.

Mr Baloch also claimed that the government circles had also given the indication that Gen Musharraf was ready to take recourse to the electoral college provided the MMA promised to vote for him.

But the alliance leaders refused this, citing their differences with his foreign, economic and political policies, the MMA leader said.

Asked if the proposed bill would amend the LFO making it part of the Constitution, he said these were the confusions being created by the vested interest.

“The issue is very clear as the same approach will be followed in making the agreed clauses of the LFO part of the Constitution that had been adopted for passing the Eighth Amendment.”

Asked if the MMA leadership would accept the reported invitation by Gen Musharraf for a meeting with him to remove the last hitches in the government-MMA agreement on the LFO, he said any such meeting before finalizing the agreement would prove futile and was rather likely to create bitterness in mutual relations.

PPI adds: The steering committee of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) is scheduled to meet on Dec 3 at the residence of Qazi Hussain Ahmed, chief of Jamaat-i-Islami and chairperson of the committee, in Islamabad.

The steering committee would discuss the prevailing political situation and decide about whether or not to launch an anti-government movement.

The committee has already invited its members for participation.