ISLAMABAD, April 6: President Pervez Musharraf will soon launch a mass contact campaign as a follow-up to his Friday’s televised address to take his case for referendum to the public directly, sources close to the government told Dawn on Saturday.

The president’s campaign will be marked by over 15 public meetings in different parts of the country to muster support for his reforms agenda.

Sources close to President Musharraf said that the campaign will most likely be designed in the style of an election campaign with the president holding public rallies and reminding people of his reforms agenda. These sources said that President Musharraf considered the referendum as evidence of public support for his agenda which he could then use to compel the future parliament to elect him as president.

Musharraf reportedly believes that structural reforms, particularly major infrastructure projects and projects providing microcredit, have already created a public constituency for him which would win support for him in the forthcoming referendum.

The president’s chosen path is not very dissimilar to that adopted by his predecessor soldier-in-presidency Gen Ziaul Haq.