The Hindu : Court decision historic, says Musharraf

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 29, 2002

International

International

Court decision historic, says Musharraf

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD APRIL 28 . The Pakistani President, Pervez Musharraf, today rounded-off his Presidential referendum campaign with a mammoth meeting at the Jinnah Memorial grounds in Karachi.

Speaking on the unanimous verdict of the Supreme Court authorising the April 30 referendum, Gen. Musharraf hailed it as historic and said that he saluted the judges for their decision. "This order has confirmed my belief that referendum was according to law and the Constitution."

Thanks to the decision of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) to stay neutral on the referendum and give permission to its cadres to participate in the rally, the crowd was sizable. For most of Gen. Musharraf's 30-minute speech, broadcast live on Pakistan Television, there was little response from the audience.

Voting on the referendum is scheduled to take place on April 30. Voters are expected to answer "yes or no" to whether they support the reforms of Gen. Musharraf's Government. If a majority answers in the affirmative, Gen. Musharraf will be considered elected President for another five years, from the date of the first meeting of the National Assembly. Such a meeting is expected in November, as general elections for the national and provincial assemblies are promised for October.

For the referendum, the whole of Pakistan will be treated as a "single constituency". This will mean that any Pakistani citizen above the age of 18 can vote from anywhere in the country. Through an ordinance last week, the Government did away with the requirement of production of a National Identity Card (NIC) and made the system of identification more flexible.

The symbolic significance of the Karachi rally can be gauged by the fact that the city accounts for ten per cent of the total population of Pakistan. Karachi is tricky for Gen. Musharraf and his referendum managers in more than one way.

Managers of Gen. Musharraf's campaign also wanted to demonstrate their abilities to gather crowds in the capital of Sindh — considered to be the stronghold of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP). It was against this backdrop that the pact with the MQM is seen as a political victory.

Unlike his speech in Lahore on April 9, when Gen. Musharraf kicked off his campaign, this time he chose to confine his speech to the achievements of his Government and promised to restore the lost glory of Karachi. He avoided attacking the two former Prime Ministers, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, and religious parties.

He sought to identify himself with the people of the Mega City when he repeatedly reminded them that he had spent most of his childhood in the city and understood their expectations and aspirations.

He also conceded that Karachi has lost some of its old charm due to the poor civil order situation and vowed to deal with the sectarian violence that has become a regular feature of the city. Earlier addressing the media, Gen. Musharraf said that the proposed National Security Council (NSC) would act as a mechanism of checks and balances and would ensure the preservation of national interests. He once again asserted that the reforms introduced by his regime were "irreversible", and that the Security Council would deal with any future Government that attempted to reverse the reforms.

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