The first round of talks between the Pakistan government and the opposition to resolve differences over the legality of President Pervez Musharraf's presidency and his constitutional amendments have ended inconclusive with the opposition saying its agitation in Parliament would continue.
The talks, which stretched into late last night, were held between Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali and leaders of the Pakistan People's Party, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.
"We have identified seven contentious issues, including president keeping office of chief of army, his discretionary powers to dismiss parliament, National Security Council and would like to hold talks on them," MMA vice-president Qazi Hussain Ahmad said after the talks. "The opposition would, however, continue its agitation in Parliament," he said.
Ahmad said the government also briefed the opposition about implications of the continued row between the treasury and the opposition in parliament.
Jamali, meanwhile, expressed optimism about the dialogue and said, "Differences were not as big as Qazi sahib wants to show."
"The talks were held in a cordial manner, although little discussions were held. We are taking things forward with the hope of resolving issues by mutual consent as both sides are eager to continue the process of dialogue and creating understanding with each other," he said.
Secretary-general of MMA Maulana Fazlur Rahman said, "Both sides have agreed that all controversial articles of the Legal Framework Order would be presented in parliament in the shape of a bill. We must keep hope for the best as the talks have opened on a positive note."
Ahmed said there was no controversy about Jamali and called him 'our consensus prime minister'. Any result could only be expected on Monday when talks would he held on 'controversial points', he added.
The move to present controversial LFO articles in parliament is being viewed as significant since the government had so far maintained that the amendments promulgated by Musharraf ahead of last year's general elections in the form of LFO were legally part of the 1973 constitution.
Jamali, meanwhile, was expected to meet Musharraf soon to discuss the fate of the contentious issues and resume talks with opposition on Monday after getting instructions from the president.
