ISLAMABAD, May 26: Representatives of the opposition parties have criticized the government’s assertion that the global and domestic situations necessitated Gen Pervez Musharraf’s retention of two offices simultaneously.

They expressed this view point in an All-Parties Conference on the Legal Framework Order held here on Monday.

The APC, dominated by the opposition parties, was attended by leaders of all major parties, including president of the PML-Q Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, S. M. Zafar, Dr Sher Afgan of the PP-Patriots and Ijazul Haq of the PML-Zia.

Leaders of the opposition were of the view that Gen Musharraf should choose between the two offices to end the ongoing political crisis in the country.

They were unanimous in expressing the view that the LFO could not become a part of the Constitution without the approval of a two-third majority in both the houses of the parliament.

Speaking on the occasion, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan of the PML-N, criticized the government for replacing the PCO with the LFO and accused the army of battering the country’s institutions into submission.

Criticizing the government for blaming the opposition for the failure of the government-opposition talks on LFO, he said that if they had wanted to do so they would not have even bothered to submit proposals to the constitutional committee.

On the occasion, chief of the Jamaat-i-Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmed rejected the possibility of a compromise over the president’s uniform, saying that he (Gen Musharraf) would need to be elected through constitutional means to increase his acceptability.

Accusing the army of making the judges of the apex court controversial, the JI chief said that they had been made beneficiaries of the LFO.

Warning of a “severe political stalemate” that would paralyse the parliament and other institutions if the government remained inflexible on the LFO issue. He said that the ‘King’s party’ would be responsible for the ensuing political crisis.

Another MMA leader, Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, said that Gen Musharraf’s own statement regarding removal of his uniform had spurred the MMA to hold talks for the second time, adding that the government wanted the opposition parties to accept the principle of “might is right.”

Imran Khan, chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, said by introducing the LFO, Gen Musharraf had brought sham democracy in the country, adding that the general had lost his credibility and could not be trusted.

Acting president of the PML-N Makhdoom Javed Hashmi stressed the need for resolving outstanding issues through dialogue, saying that the only prerequisites were sincerity and commitment.

Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi of the People’s Party Parliamentarians questioned the motivation of the government for holding talks, saying why it had held talks if it believed that the LFO was part of the Constitution.

Stressing the need for developing consensus on vital issues, S. M. Zafar said that both the government and the opposition should show flexibility.

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain of the PML-Q blamed the PML-N leadership for involving the army in civilian matters.

Dr Sher Afgan was rebuffed by the opposition leaders, when he said that a consensus had existed between the government and the opposition on 26 out of 31 contentious points in the LFO.

Ijazul Haq said that the opposition was talking about “ideal situation” while ignoring the “ground realities.”