FAISALABAD, Dec 26: National Assembly Speaker Amir Husain expressed the confidence that the prime minister would get the vote of confidence with a thumping majority in the Dec 30 session.

Talking to newsmen here at the University of Agriculture after inaugurating 33rd All-Pakistan Science Conference on Thursday, he said not only the PML-Q members, but MNAs belonging to other parties had already assured the premier of their support.

Mr Husain said the present house was competent enough to resolve all problems as every members was well educated.

About the agenda of Dec 30 session, he said he was not aware of other issues on list.

Replying to a question about the Legal Framework Order, he said he could not give his ruling as the matter was in the court.

When asked whether he would allow a debate on the LFO as was done by former speaker Syed Fakhar Imam in 1985 on the constitutional order which was incorporated as Eighth Amendment in the constitution, Mr Husain said: “It is premature to say anything about it as the question would be decided according to the wishes of the members.”

He evaded the question when his attention was drawn to the fact that the government had already issued “authentic version of the Constitution” in which all the amendments had been incorporated.

“There are other more important issues than the LFO to be discussed in the house,” he said.

He said it was up to the members to bring burning issues for debate in the house and suggest the measures for steering the country out of the menace of the unemployment, law and order, inflation, shortage of water and other such issues.

The speaker said the process of formation of standing committees would start soon.

Mr Husain dispelled the impression that it would be difficult to run the assembly affairs in the presence of heads of major political parties in the house and very thin majority of the ruling party.

He promised that he would remain impartial and would prove it through his conduct.

He refused to answer the questions about the formation of forward bloc in the PPP and induction of its members in the federal cabinet. “I don’t want to indulge in such controversial issues.”

About prorogation of the Punjab Assembly session for want of quorum, he said it was an independent and sovereign house. Being speaker of the National Assembly, he has nothing to do with it.

He, however, agreed with the speaker’s ruling that those who requisite the session were bound to ensure quorum as the speaker could not force the treasury members to attend the session.

AXED TO DEATH: A man axed to death his sister on Thursday over a minor issue here in Dhuddiwala.

Nooran Bibi exchanged harsh words with her brother Gulzar Ahmed. He fell into a rage and attacked his sister with an axe due to which she sustained serious wounds. She died while being taken to hospital.

Saddar police have registered a case against the absconding accused.

Meanwhile, four accused — Zulfiqar Ali, Basharat, Afzal and Sajid Ali allegedly shot dead a boy, Shahbaz Ahmed, at Chak 364-GB over an old enmity. The killers escaped from the scene after committing the crime.

COMMITS SUICIDE: A jobless youth committed suicide by taking poison in D-Type Colony here on Thursday.

Khizar Hayat of Jhang district died on the way to a local hospital. Police sent the body to Allied Hospital for autopsy.