ISLAMABAD Feb 21: The deputy chief of the Jamaat-i-Islami, Senator Prof Ghafoor Ahmed, claimed on Saturday that the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal had scored a political success by getting a written assurance that President Gen Pervez Musharraf would relinquish the post of the chief of the army staff before Dec 31.

Talking to newsmen at a hotel, he said Gen Musharraf's pledge to give up his uniform was a part of the Constitution, which could not be reversed without the assent of a two-thirds majority of parliament.

He termed reports suggesting that the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy had parted ways with the MMA propaganda and said the relations between the alliances were getting better as they were cooperating in the Senate proceedings in a more meaningful way.

Justifying the government-MMA accord, he said no party struggled against the Legal Framework Order when it was promulgated in August 2002.

He said all the parties took part in the election under the LFO and the opposition took the position at the time of taking oath in the National Assembly and Senate that its members had done so under the 1973 Constitution, which was followed by a year-long protest in the houses.

He claimed that the People's Party Parliamentarians had entered into a dialogue with the military regime on forming a government and named Makhdoom Amin Fahim for the prime minister's post.

However, when the MMA resumed talks with the government in the second phase on issues related to the LFO, the ARD kept away from the process, he said.

He said no opposition party was able to challenge the referendum while the MMA had made the government admit that the referendum was not correct and he had to take a vote of confidence from the electoral college.