LAHORE, April 21: President Pervez Musharraf indicated here on Monday that he would not address the joint session of parliament while the current situation in the two houses lasted.

He also stated that the LFO was a part of the Constitution and it would never be changed.

Reply to reporters’ questions after addressing the ninth convocation of the National College of Arts, the President said: “I will address only a civilized assembly because I do not want the world to develop the perception that we are not civilized (people).

The president was obviously referring to the disturbances that have marred recent proceedings in both houses of parliament.

“I don’t think it is necessary to address parliament,” the president replied when asked about his plans to address a joint session of the National Assembly and the Senate.

Asked if the present assembly would be able to complete its term, he said he was hopeful that it would. He said the LFO was a “part of the (1973) Constitution and would not be changed”.

Without referring to the combined opposition’s demand that the LFO be tabled in the form of a bill in parliament for approval by people’s representatives, the president said: “The opponents of the LFO will have to reconcile themselves with it sooner or later. The LFO will never be changed. The process of election will become defunct (if the LFO is amended or withdrawn) which is not good for democracy in the country,” he said.

In reply to a question about Indian prime minister’s offer for peace talks with Pakistan, President Musharraf said Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali had already welcomed it. “I’ll support whatever decision the prime minister would take. This process (of peace) has to move forward,” he said.

Asked about Pakistan’s role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan, he replied: “Our exports to that country have already increased to $250 million from a paltry $5-10 million and our cement industry is doing pretty well.”

He said: “Afghan President Hamid Karzai is scheduled to reach here on Tuesday for talks to further improve bilateral cooperation in the economic and other fields.”

In reply to a question about Iraq, he said Pakistan would like to send medical and other assistance to help the people of Iraq and added the United Nations had indicated that “we may also be asked to send our troops to that country as part of international forces” to be stationed there. The prime minister, he added, would take action if and when Pakistan was approached with such a request.

He dismissed out of hand talk of Pakistan’s being the next target (of the US aggression) after Iraq as utter “nonsense”. “Those who say such things are not sincere. They should be ashamed of themselves. Pakistan is an important part of the Ummah and a strategic ally of others. Those uttering such rubbish are not aware of our geo-strategic location. Pakistan will never be targeted (by anyone),” he said.

IQBAL CONFERENCE: President Musharraf said that the Islamic world and the region in which Pakistan was located faced serious crises which could only be warded off through unity and harmony of thought.

“This is not a time for divisions. We can move ahead only through unity in our ranks”, he said in his address inaugurating a four-day international Iqbal conference at the Aiwan-i-Iqbal.

The general said at the beginning of the 21st century, many geo-strategic changes were taking place in the world which had also brought many challenges for the Muslim countries, including Pakistan.

The country, he said, could overcome its difficulties through its capabilities and resources.

He did refer in his speech to the situation created by the opposition in parliament. There was tight security around the conference venue and journalists were kept at a distance, as a result of which they could not ask the COAS- president any questions.

In his address, the general said, Iqbal had rejected the myopic view of religion while monopolists of religion were trying to confine it and the people’s urge for social welfare and modern education had been suppressed.

The president said a country which was 98 per cent Muslim had been turned into a battleground between Islam and “Kufr”. The real battle, President Musharraf said, was between honesty and dishonesty, truth and falsehood, hypocrisy and straightforwardness.

Governor Khalid Maqbool, Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and minister of state for Culture Rais Munir, Corps Commander Lt-Gen Zarrar Azeem, ISPR director-general Maj-Gen Rashid Qureshi, Lahore Nazim and senior officials were also present.

Gen Musharraf began his address in English in which the rest of the proceedings were conducted. But after a while he changed to Urdu, saying this was a more appropriate language in which to pay tributes to the poet-philosopher.

Gen Musharraf said Iqbal was remembered every year since the inception of the country, but it was regrettable that no practical steps had been taken to translate his thoughts into reality.

Earlier, Dr Javed Iqbal presented address of welcome.