ISLAMABAD, April 6: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has welcomed Commonwealth Secretary-General Don Mckinnon’s remarks on President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s Friday speech.

Mr Mckinnon observed that Gen Musharraf’s announcement that he would hold a referendum for extending his presidency by five years was not in keeping with the roadmap announced by him.

“Such a device has also been used in the past by a former military leader in Pakistan to extend his stay in the office,” the Commonwealth secretary general recalled and asked Gen Musharraf to adopt a constitutional way to the national democratic institutions.

In a statement issued here on Saturday, a PPP spokesman urged upon all organizations having an interest in democracy and human rights to take note of the “constitutional fraud” and ask the regime to desist from corrupting the democratic institutions.

The PPP said that although it did not expect the General to pay heed to such advice, it was still heartening that a prestigious and influential forum like the Commonwealth had sent a powerful signal to him that the world could not be fooled.

He recalled that Gen Musharraf had told the national newspapers’ editors that “the referendum will tell the world that Pakistanis need me”. That dream has now been shattered with the world declaring that the referendum will not a vote of confidence in the General, he added.