ISLAMABAD May 8: The eleven-member Government-Opposition constitutional committee on Thursday completed deliberations on the six out of seven contentious points of the Legal Framework Order (LFO).

After exhaustive deliberations on the six points of the LFO on Thursday, the committee is now likely to discuss the most difficult point — the status of the LFO itself — on Friday morning.

The committee is to reach a consensus on whether the LFO is an extra-constitutional piece of legislation or it is part of the Constitution.

Mr Liaquat Baloch, a Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) leader and member of the joint negotiating committee, told Dawn that the Opposition believed that the LFO was not part of the Constitution and that any amendment to the Constitution had to be approved by parliament.

He said that the government avoided discussion on the LFO status, the most contentious of the seven points, in Thursday’s deliberations and instead discussed the issue of extension in retirement age of superior courts’ judges.

When asked to comment on today’s deliberations, PML-Q’s senior lawyer and a member of the committee Senator S.M. Zafar said: “Tomorrow onwards we will go into details of the agreed points which have emerged in our deliberations so far to draw up a comprehensive constitutional package for the consideration and endorsement of the proposed joint meeting of heads of Government and Opposition parties.”

When asked about the progress made in the last four days’ talks, the PML-Q leader said: “Things have started moving in a positive direction and we hope the committee will be able to put forward some concrete recommendations for the party heads for approval.”

He said that after completion of the first reading of the contentious items of the LFO, efforts would immediately start for compiling recommendations in the shape of a constitutional package. These recommendations, he said, would be based on those points of the LFO on which both sides would have similarity of views.

He said that after completion of the discussion on the seven points the committee would also concentrate on points of contention which other parties wanted to raise and discuss.

Meanwhile, Liaquat Baloch and Senator Abdur Razzak Thaeem briefing the newsmen, said that the negotiating team had completed deliberations on the President’s discretionary powers and the 6th Schedule.

Meanwhile, a joint statement released by the Speaker’s Secretariat after the talks said: “The joint Government-Opposition constitutional committee held its meeting at the Parliament House on Wednesday for four hours. The meeting discussed amendments to the Article 243 of the Constitution through the LFO and the 6th Schedule of the Constitution and advanced proposals.

“In today’s meeting the negotiating team deliberated the President’s discretionary powers and the State Bank of Pakistan Act, National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Local Government System, General Election Order 2002, Political Parties Order, Bar on Holding of Public Offices Order, Press Order 2002 and other laws and ordinances.

The negotiating committee will again meet at the Parliament House on Friday, May 9, at 10am.