April 14, 2002	Sunday	Muharram 30, 1423

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KOHAT, April 13: NWFP People’s Party president Khwaja Mohammad Khan Hoti said on Friday that his party will not allow the government to usurp the constitutional rights of the people by holding referendum to prolong its undemocratic rule.

Speaking at a function organised by the Kohat Bar Association, he announced that the political parties would launch a mass contact campaign and mobilise the people by telling them that referendum could not be a substitute for democracy and the government was creating impediments in its way.

Mr Hoti said the constitution had no provision for referendum for extending the president’s rule and only an elected parliament was empowered to do so. He said that even if Gen Musharraf got the vote of the people, he would have to get the decision endorsed by the parliament after the October polls.

Therefore, he said, the government should not waste money on holding the referendum to impose its unlawful writ on the people in an unconstitutional manner.

He declared that all the democratic entities had disapproved of  the referendum and asked President Musharraf to adopt constitutional means if he thought that his remaining president for five years was indispensable for the state.

He said all the political parties would try to persuade the public not to take part in the referendum and they had decided to boycott it because it would have a negative affect on the polls. He said that if Gen Musharraf became the president, the polls may not be acceptable to the political parties.

He said PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto would soon return and participate in the elections. He said she was not afraid of the cases filed against her and she had a good experience of tackling such tactics of army rulers.