April 2, 2002	Tuesday	Muharram 18,1423

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ISLAMABAD, April 1: Decision to hold referendum, and elect Musharraf as the president for five-year term has reportedly been taken following the credible reports of agencies that the politicians and political parties, enjoying government support, may fail to make two-third of majority in October polls.

There was also a biggest hurdle in the way of these parties, according to sources, that all of them— including PML-QA, PTI, Millat Party, PAT and Qaumi Jamhoori Party— aspired for the lion’s share in future set-up with no hope of gaining absolute majority in parliament.

Under this impression, not only that the decision to hold referendum despite of stiff resistance from political opponents was taken by Gen Musharraf, but the option of turning the proposed General Elections into party-less polls has also been added to the same agenda.

A senior politician and new member of PML-QA, Iftikhar Hussain Gilani, in an informal chat with newsmen termed referendum a good idea to give most vital legitimacy to the army government.

But Gilani was unable to understand as to what mechanism Gen Musharraf was going to adopt to stop future military interventions as he had claimed recently. He said if governments could be overthrown more than once in the presence of article 6 in the Constitution, no measure could avoid such an eventuality.

It was also learnt that the government had taken some of the ‘like-minded’ politicians into confidence on the prospects of holding party-less polls.

Sources privy to the futuristic strategies at government level have claimed that a number of politicians within the government-supporting parties had expressed their reservations against the military government’s policies, which, according to them, might not augur well to them.

Talking to Dawn, Shujaat Hussain claimed that he was among the few at meeting with president who had told him in plain words that he did not approve all his policies.

Despite on record support to the proposed referendum, there is certain amount of dissent among PML-QA leadership over the question and many other policies.

The impression was strengthened during interviews with various politicians, as some of the opponents of referendum feared that a triumph in referendum would make the president an all time powerful dictator to further marginalise and put the political leadership in the docks.

Another PML-QA leader confided in this scribe that the league leaders were extremely uneasy by the ground reality that its candidates could not win many seats even with government’s support.

Intelligence reports under the active consideration of the government indicated that unless the party (PML-QA) joined hands with some other effective parties, it may not grab many seats in the country.

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said efforts were under way to reach at seat adjustment arrangements with religio-political parties— JUI(F) in the NWFP and Jamaat-i-Islami in centre.

Such adjustments were being considered between Liaqat Baloch of Jamaat and Chaudhri Pervez Elahi (PML-QA) in Punjab, he added.