December 28, 2003	Sunday	Ziqa’ad 4, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, Dec 27: The MMA on Saturday reached another agreement with the government legal experts under which the 17th constitutional amendment bill, tabled in the National Assembly on Friday, would not be redrafted but might be changed where it was found in violation of the deal signed between the two sides on Wednesday.

The agreement was reached at a meeting attended by Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Liaquat Baloch and Hafiz Hussain Ahmed of the MMA and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, S.M. Zafar and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mohammad Raza Hayat Hiraj from the coalition.

Talking to newsmen later, Chaudhry Shujaat said: “No new bill will be tabled but changes will be made accordingly to allay the MMA’s reservations”.

MMA’s deputy secretary-general Liaquat Baloch told this reporter that the MMA leaders aired their reservations on a number of articles.

He said the government side had agreed to drop the amendment proposed in Article 152A which provided for the setting up of a National Security Council and left it to parliament to pass it through an act.

Similarly, in article 270AA pertaining to the validation and affirmation of the laws enacted by the president/chief executive after October 12, 1999, the last four lines of para 1 will be removed.

These lines are: “..., having been validly made by the competent authority, are hereby further affirmed, adopted and declared to have been validly made and notwithstanding anything contained in the Constitution shall not be called in question in any court or forum on any ground whatsoever”.

Mr Baloch claimed that by removing this wording the remaining part of the LFO would be deemed to have been passed by parliament.

He said the MMA stuck to its stand that the LFO was not part of the constitution and would remain so until it was passed by parliament by a two-thirds majority.

Asked if the MMA had withdrawn its demand for incorporation of the remaining 22 articles of the LFO in the amendment bill, he said all the opposition parties had reached a consensus on those articles at the talks held during the last one year.

He said the MMA had agreed to the insertion of Article 41 of the constitution pertaining to the separation of the offices of COAS and president beyond December 31, 2004.

Mr Baloch maintained that the amendment relating to the reduction of superior court judges’ retirement age provided under the LFO would be reframed.

Furthermore, it was decided that a correction would be made in the amendment of Article 268 providing for the laws that the local government system would end in 2008 and not in 2009 as was the impression created by president’s televised speech.

AITZAZ AHSAN: PPP Parliamentarians’ constitutional expert Aitzaz Ahsan said the opposition did not recognize the MMA’s claim that it had been successful in removing the LFO from the constitution and added that it would continue its opposition to the bill.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Ahsan said: “We will express our opinion on the changed bill when it will be tabled in the house”.