For the President’s election, Basic Democrats will constitute the electoral college, but their number will be raised from 80,000 to 1,20,000.

Important decisions are understood to have been taken by the Central Cabinet at a special meeting held today under the chairmanship of President Ayub.

The Law Ministry has been directed to prepare the necessary legislative Bill to be introduced during the budget sessions of the National Assembly beginning on May 25.

The Franchise Commission it may be stated, had unanimously recommended the introduction of adult franchise for elections to the National and provincial Assemblies. The Commission was, however, divided three to two on the question of the President’s election. The minority view being, it is understood, that the President’s election should be by Basic Democrats, but their number be increased by 40,000.

Besides the Franchise Commission report, the Cabinet discussed other political and administrative matters. The meeting remained in session for nearly four hours. No official announcement was made after the meeting. —Staff Correspondent

Port expansion KARACHI: The Central Minister for Communications, Khan A. Sabur Khan, said in Karachi yesterday that in the Third Five-Year Plan considerably larger expansion work will be undertaken for the development of Karachi Port considering the present trade trends.

The Minister was speaking at the opening ceremony of the new North Gate of Karachi Port.

“With the implementation of this project, we can now offer to trade modern port facilities for berthing of ships, storage and clearance of cargo,” the Minister said. —Staff Correspondent