ISLAMABAD, Nov 27: Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali has asked his 21-member cabinet not to comment on the Legal Framework Order (LFO) at any forum, sources told Dawn.

The sources said that in a brief cabinet meeting held soon after his oath-taking ceremony on Saturday, the prime minister advised his newly-appointed ministers not to comment on the LFO — a package of constitutional amendments decreed by President Gen Pervez Musharraf but opposed by the opposition parties.

Mr Jamali had said that policy statements should only be made after due consultation with him.

The sources said that the president, in an informal meeting with the cabinet members had congratulated them and informed that the prime minister would have complete authority to run the government. The president had expressed hope that the present assembly would complete its five-year tenure.

The sources quoted the president as having said that new traditions would be set for the entire nation, old mistakes would not be repeated, and a culture of honesty and merit would be introduced.

The president told the new cabinet that strategies for all sectors had been prepared in the last three years and it was up to the new government to implement them, the sources added.

He had said that three years ago a group of strangers was put together to form a cabinet who soon gelled into a team and worked with devotion and selflessness to bring strength and pride back to the country, the sources added.

The president added that he firmly believed that Mr Jamali had the ability to weld the cabinet into a team and described the finance, planning, commerce and Central Board of Revenue as critical divisions of the government, the sources said.

The prime minister, responding to the president’s remarks, reiterated his view that “Pakistan First” should be the guiding principle for the new government and self-interest should take a back seat, the sources added.