FAISALABAD, April 30: Major political parties said on Tuesday that the turnout of voters in the referendum was not more than 7 per cent.

In separate statements, leaders of the PPP, the PML (N) and the Jamaat-i-Islami said that the people have rejected Gen Pervez Musharraf by confining themselves to their homes.

They also alleged large-scale rigging and violation of rules by the polling staff on the pressure of government high-ups and termed it as a stigma on the face of rulers.

PPP’s Punjab secretary-general Rana Aftab Ahmed Khan said that the general had miserably failed to convince the people for supporting his wrong policies. “It can be judged from the fact that most polling stations in the Punjab were giving a deserted look.”

He said that the reports from all over the province suggest that people rejected the referendum plan. “Now, there is no justification for Gen Musharraf to stay in power.”

Rana Aftab also criticized the arrest of political leaders and workers in Lahore on Monday night.

Former MPA of the PML-N, Rana Sanaullah Khan, said that complete boycott of the referendum by the people had proved that the masses were against the “self-styled and unconstitutional military rulers.”

Now, he said, Gen Musharraf should immediately hand over the powers to Chief Justice of Pakistan for holding general elections in free and transparent manner after setting up a caretaker government.

He said that military regime succeeded in getting just 5-7 per cent turnout by using all state machinery, resources and forcing the government employees to cast their votes. “Billions of rupees had been spent on referendum which is an offence.”

Jamaat-i-Islami’s city amir Mahboob-uz-Zaman Butt said that now rulers should step down in the larger interest of the country because people had rejected them in the referendum.

“In case Gen Musharraf tried to befool the people by announcing the engineered results, he would face wrath of the people.”

GUJRANWALA: The leaders of PPP, PML-N, Jamaat-i-Islami, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (F) and (S) and Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan claimed that majority of masses boycotted the referendum.