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| April 15, 2002 | Monday | Safar 1, 1423 |
Benazir to face cases on return, says president
FAISALABAD, April 14: President Gen Pervez Musharraf said here on Sunday that referendum would strengthen the national economy and stabilize democracy in the country.
Talking to various delegations drawn from different segments of the society at Circuit House, President Musharraf said that the government in a short span of time, had introduced result-oriented economic reforms and was pursing policies aimed at betterment of down-trodden people and progress in every sphere of life.
He said landslide victory in referendum would usher in an era of rapid economic development across the country.
The president said due to blunders of previous rulers, country faced serious setbacks in every sector which resulted in political and economic disasters.
He said Benazir Bhutto had issued a press statement from the US stating that she was coming to Pakistan. The president said the government never stopped her from coming to Pakistan but she would have to face the cases registered against her.
He said that Benazir Bhutto had herself been talking about a deal with the government but the government neither offered any sort of deal to her nor believed in it.
He said the same was the attitude of the political leader living in Saudi Arabia. The president said both the political leaders while in power fanned the politics of hatred and adopted political vendetta.
Gen Musharraf said now the government would bring an end to dirty politics and promote politics of decency.
He said both the political leaders living abroad wanted to create political chaos suited to their own interests but people would foil their nefarious designs in the referendum.
President Musharraf said the government elected after October elections would be strong enough to complete its five-year term in office and would work for the uplift of the masses.
He said the main objective behind referendum was to ensure the continuity of the policies of the present government. The president said that the voters in the forthcoming referendum would sideline the disgruntled elements by casting vote in his favour.
The president said the holding of referendum was constitutional as he had held detailed discussions with leading constitution