NOWSHERA, July 8: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad reiterated here on Tuesday his party’s stand on the controversial Legal Framework Order, saying the opposition was willing to resume talks from where it had broken off before the no-confidence move against National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain.

Speaking at a press conference, the Jamaat chief said the opposition had withdrawn its no-trust motion against the deputy speaker only after Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali’s assurance to discuss the remaining contentious issues of the LFO.

This, he maintained, was done with a view to uphold the supremacy of the parliament and strengthen democracy in the country.

He regretted a statement by Federal Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, who had said the LFO was part of the Constitution. “This is duplicity,” Qazi Hussain charged. “How can talks resume in such a situation,” he wondered.

Urging the prime minister to take a clear stand on the issue, he warned that the opposition would take to the streets and not hesitate from launching a march on Islamabad if the federal government did not “mend its ways”.

The Jamaat leader recalled that the prime minister had assured them to talk about the contentious issues of the LFO. This, he added, was based on the premise that the LFO was not part of the Constitution. The government and the opposition after reaching an agreement on all contentious issues would move an amendment in the parliament for approval, he added.

He made it clear that the opposition would never agree to the National Security Council, the president’s power to dismiss the parliament, the extension in the retirement age of judges, the inclusion of local bodies, the police reforms and the education reform ordinance in schedule VI and the appointment of governors by the president.

Qazi Hussain said the opposition did not recognize the election of the president through referendum which, he added, was unconstitutional.

Similarly, he said, President Gen Pervez Musharraf would have to choose between the Office of the President and the Chief of Army Staff. He however, expressed his willingness to accept President Musharraf as constitutional head if all other matters in the LFO were agreed upon.

The JI chief said the opposition was unanimous in its stand that no individual could amend the Constitution and that the Supreme Court, too, had no such powers. “How could the Speaker then give a ruling in this regard? His ruling was unconstitutional and against rules.”

He maintained that the opposition had shown sincerity and large-heartedness and the federal government should reciprocate in the same manner. “This is good for the country and the supremacy of the parliament.”

Qazi Hussain welcomed the “change in the attitude” of President Musharraf, who, the JI leader felt, had given an indication to discuss the remaining contentious issues of the LFO.