ISLAMABAD, April 20: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali and PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain on Sunday held a detailed discussion with President General Pervez Musharraf on the deadlock resulting from opposition parties’ stance on the Legal Framework Order and army chief as president.

Talking to newsmen later, Chaudhry Shujaat declared in unequivocal terms that PML-Q and its allies had accepted the LFO as part of the constitution and they felt that there was “no need to take it to parliament for approval”.

Sources said the meeting reviewed the situation, particularly the latest disturbance in the Senate, and agreed that the joint session of parliament be postponed till a conducive time. Mr Jamali and Chaudhry Shujaat assured the president that his position would be protected inside and outside parliament.

The three decided to take a hard line against the combined opposition and not to give away anything on contentious issues.

They discussed the proposal that the president should himself hold talks with opposition leaders to work out a constitutional package by striking down controversial articles of the LFO.

Chaudhry Shujaat said his party and its allies had decided that in future talks with opposition on the LFO would be held only outside parliament.

He said if the opposition wanted to discuss the LFO inside parliament then it should bring it in the shape of an amendment bill on a private members’ day. In that case, he added, the ruling alliance would definitely debate the constitutionality of the LFO.

In reply to a question when the president would leave his army post, Chaudhry Shujaat said: “It is not a public interest issue”.

He said the PML-Q and its allies had decided to conduct the legislative business in the National Assembly by regularly submitting their agenda to the house from Monday onwards. “We have witnessed enough of opposition’s disruptions in the lower and upper houses and will now go for the legislative business”.

When questioned about the PML-Q’s position on direct talks between opposition and the president, he said his party would have no objection if a solution to the crisis was found by such a meeting. The president, he added, was part of parliament and he could talk to legislators on any issue, directly or indirectly.

Accompanied by Health Minister Mohammad Nasir Khan and the minister of state for law and parliamentary affairs, Mohammad Raza Hayat Hiraj, Chaudhry Shujaat said the PML-Q would submit its agenda to the speaker’s secretariat on Monday.

Mr Nasir said the government would bring an amendment bill to ensure availability of medicines at reasonable rates and discourage the business of fake and expired medicines.

He said the government had reduced prices of 23 essential medicines with the cooperation of multinationals and hoped that more relief would be provided to people by getting the relevant bill passed by the house.

Mr Hiraj said a civil procedural code bill aimed at minimizing the period of civil cases’ decision would also be introduced.

He said the government wanted to introduce a crops insurance bill. Other bills expected to be introduced pertained to human rights, environment and jail reforms, he added.

APP adds: Commenting on the attitude of opposition in the Senate, Chaudhry Shujaat said: “We were not expecting such type of attitude and this should not happen.”