LAHORE, March 6: The ruling PML(Q) is going to initiate an out-of-parliament dialogue with opposition parties to settle differences on the Legal Framework Order, the party’s president, Chaudhry Shujaat Husain, said here on Thursday.

Talking to Dawn after Wednesday’s rumpus in the National Assembly, he said a decision on placing the LFO before parliament would be taken in the light of the outcome of the talks he would hold with other leaders.

The LFO issue had caused serious embarrassment to the government when opposition legislators in the National Assembly challenged its status and threw away copies of the Constitution, of which it has been made a part.

The lower house of parliament is scheduled to reconvene on Friday and opposition is determined not to let the government transact any other business unless the issue of the LFO is resolved first.

Chaudhry Shujaat hoped that all parties would reach some understanding as a result of the talks proposed by him.

He recalled that before the formation of the government all major parties had signed an agreement, empowering him to take up the question of the LFO with the government. The signatories included leaders of the PPP, the JUI, the Jamaat-i-Islami and other parties.

Of the 29 clauses of the agreement, all parties had unanimity of views on 21. The president’s power to sack the assembly, his decision to retain his army post, the formation of the National Security Council and the local government system were among the controversial issues on which no agreement had been reached. In response to a question about differences between the Punjab and Sindh governments on the Greater Thal Canal and the Kalabagh dam, Chaudhry Shujaat said he was going to call a meeting of all provinces to discuss these matters in depth. The party would take decisions in the light of the discussions.

He said since Prime Minister Jamali belonged to a province which was not involved in any controversy, he was in a better position to decide such disputes.

Replying to a question about Pakistan’s policy on Iraq, Chaudhry Shujaat said the government should let its point of view be known to the nation. He said all decisions should be taken according to aspirations of the people and they should be informed if the government had any compulsions.

The PML(Q) president said he personally thought that the US should review its plans against Iraq, and President Saddam should heed what the Arab leaders were suggesting to resolve the crisis.

In his opinion, the threat of war was receding with the passage of time. “The danger at the moment is less than what it was a week ago. I think the war will not take place. The US and the UK will not like to annoy the entire world by going to war”.