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'Talks over Musharraf laws will succeed'

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD APRIL 26. There are conflicting signals at the end of the first round of talks between the Pakistan Government and the Opposition over the deadlock on validity of Musharraf laws.

The Prime Minister, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, has taken the initiative for dialogue after the Opposition stalled Parliament, questioning the legitimacy of laws promulgated by Pervez Musharraf during the military rule and his continuation in the posts of Army Chief and President.

Gen. Musharraf has left little room for negotiations as he categorically declared in the course of a televised press conference that there was no question of he giving up either the post of Army Chief or the President. At the end of three hour long parleys on Friday night, both sides have expressed `optimism' about the success of parleys and decided to hold next round on Monday.

It appears in the course of the talks both sides stuck to their views on the contentious issues. There is no meeting point between the two was evident from the announcement made by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, that the Opposition would continue with its agitation when National Assembly re-opens on Monday. Though the Assembly was constituted in November, till date it has not able to hold a single normal legislative session.

At the Friday meeting, while the combined opposition, according to Qazi Hussain Ahmed, identified seven contentious issues to the official team, the Prime Minister briefed the participants about the implications of the continued row between the treasury and the Opposition in Parliament.

The Prime Minister, who appeared `unhappy' over Mr. Ahmed's insistence on differences on various issues, expressed a high degree of optimism about the success of dialogues. "Differences were not as big as Qazi sahib wanted to show them," he remarked.

Mr. Jamali claimed that 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 were eager to continue the process of dialogue and creating understanding with each other."

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