Islamabad: Amid uproar by mainstream political parties over Constitutional amendments brought in by President Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's National Assembly has been prorogued indefinitely even as the government and the Opposition began talks to iron out differences.

Musharraf prorogued the National Assembly on March 10 night after the Islamist alliance Muthahida Majlis-e Amal (MMA) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) along with other Opposition parties obstructed the proceedings with slogans against the President and his amendments which gave more powers to him, including the authority to dismiss the Parliament.

The proceedings were disrupted for the second week in a succession as it was adjourned twice last week after witnessing similar scenes following tabling of copies of the Legal Framework Order (LFO) by the government.

The LFO incorporated the amendments promulgated by Musharraf ahead of elections of 2002, legalising his continuation as President, through a referendum and conferring more powers on him. The mainstream parties rejected the LFO and questioned its legality, while the government maintained that it was part of the 1973 Constitution.

The proceedings of the 342-member Assembly were disrupted on March 10 even though the ruling and the Opposition parties began talks to settle row over LFO.

The House was prorogued amid slogans like 'No LFO No" and 'Go Musharraf Go' by Opposition members who besieged the Speaker's dais.

However, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, in an apparent move to silence the Opposition, made a brief speech on the Iraq crisis saying his government had decided not to support any "designs of war" on Iraq.

PTI