ISLAMABAD, April 11: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Thursday reiterated his resolve not to allow Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif to return and indulge in power politics, till he was in power.

Speaking to a strong delegation of 55 labour leaders belonging to various trade federations of all the four provinces, the President said: “Although I enjoy full confidence of the masses still I have decided to get their mandate through referendum on April 30.”

Most of the labour leaders on the occasion welcomed the decision to hold referendum and assured the President of their cooperation.

The President appealed to all segments of the society, including labourers, to vote for him to help him make Pakistan a welfare state in which their rights were protected.

According to sources, the meeting continued for well over two and a half hours during which the President explained his point of view and listened to the suggestions put forward by labour leaders.

The labour leaders on the occasion suggested to the President to announce a package of incentives for the labour community before referendum.

The President, however, replied that although he was in favour of extending maximum facilities to the labourer community and would do his best to alleviate their sufferings he would not take any decision in haste.

Accepting in principle a proposal by some leaders, the President asked the NRB to consider the possibility of providing special reserved seats for workers in the National as well as provincial assemblies.

The labour leaders also requested the President to ensure that the seats reserved for labourers were not occupied by other interest groups instead.

The delegation included Khurshid Ahmed, President All Pakistan Federation of Trade Unions; Zahoor Ahmed Awan, President All Pakistan Federation of Labour; Qamos Gul Khattak of Muttahida Labour Federation Sindh, Khani Zaman from Balochistan, Gul Rahman and Abdur Rab Sabir from NWFP.

Meanwhile, an official handout issued after the meeting said that the President met labour leaders who had come from all over the country. The President in his opening remarks stated that the present government believed in dignity of labour and had taken a number of measures for the welfare of the workers during the last two and a half years.

The labour leaders fully supported the seven-point agenda and indicated their firm belief in the continuity of reform process undertaken by the present government.

All the labour leaders unanimously supported the holding of referendum on April 30 and assured the President that they would mobilise full support for making it a success, it said.

The labour leaders raised issues pertaining to welfare of the workers.