KARACHI, April 2: Pakistan Muslim League (N) has criticized the referendum plan, which it said, would cost the exchequer two billion rupees. Besides, there is no provision in the Constitution for election of the President through referendum.

Talking to a group of journalists on Tuesday, PML(N) chief organiser Ahsan Iqbal said that today Pakistan’s political and economic crises demanded that next elections should be held in a free and transparent manner so that political stability could be restored as without political stability no economic agenda could bear fruit.

Recalling that the cost of 1997 elections was over Rs750 million which would be equivalent to over a billion rupees today, he asked from where the cost of this referendum would be met; by taxing the poor, by imposition of GST on life-saving drugs or increasing the electricity tariff?

“What is the justification of referendum when elections are to be held within six months. Actually, he said, Gen Musharraf had lost all hope in the next elections and the new parliament for his election as President, therefore, he wishes to seek a fake presidential degree at a cost of Rs2 billion.

The PML(N) leader said if the government felt confident of its popularity, why didn’t it face the electorate in a fair and free election. “The manner in which the proposed referendum is planned, beats the election of Zimbabwe’s President Mugabe by leaps and bounds.

Accusing the government of planning to arrest opposition figures on charges of corruption and to disqualify its staunch opponents, he said Gen Musharraf and his governors would be campaigning for the referendum while political parties would not be allowed to campaign against Gen Musharraf’s election.

According to reports, Mr Iqbal further said, there would be no voters lists and voters would be allowed to vote at any polling stations to make it a walk-in and drive-in referendum which would be a mockery of the exercise.

Pointing out that the referendum had been opposed by all the major political parties and lawyers of the country, he said the government was bent upon bulldozing the public opinion. “What will happen if one or more smaller provinces voted against the general in the referendum,” he asked.

He said that the PML-N believed in the supremacy of the Constitution and democracy in the country. It had been resisting the government pressure for the last two and a half years, he added.

Mr Iqbal said that the government was taking unconstitutional steps as the Election Commission had already notified delimitation of constituencies while no amendment to the Constitution had been made as yet to allow increase in the number of seats from 217 to 350.