Islamabad, July 08: Pakistan Opposition has withdrawn their no-confidence motion against the Deputy Speaker after Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali agreed to discuss the issue of President Pervez Musharraf's controversial constitutional amendments. The motion against Sardar Muhammad Yacub was withdrawn formally by the opposition during debate yesterday after Jamali offered to set a date for discussing Musharraf's Legal Framework Order (LFO) with the combined opposition, after consulting the ruling PML-Q.

A no-confidence motion against National Assembly Speaker Amir Hussain was not admitted earlier due to lack of required numbers.

The opposition also appeared pacified after the Pakistan Supreme Court suspended a judgement of an election tribunal disqualifying a legislator of the Muthahida Majlis Amal Ibrar Sultan, on the grounds that the degree held by him was not equivalent to BA. The court posted his case along with that of 63 others to September this year for hearing.
Jamali's readiness to talk to the opposition is seen as a climbdown from the government's earlier stand that Musharraf's amendments were part of the 1973 constitution and therefore not negotiable.

The previous talks between Jamali and the Opposition broke down in may after the government hardened its stand on LFO. While Jamali did not call a meeting of the party leaders to discuss the impasse as he promised, the Speaker declared that LFO was part of the Constitution, making it mandatory for the opposition to accept it.

This infuriated the opposition and led to the move of no-trust motion against Hussain.
Bureau Report