LARKANA, April 5: The central executive committee of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has condemned President Pervez Musharraf for what it termed misinterpretation of the Constitution regarding the referendum and ultravires to the Constitution.

The central executive committee’s meeting was held at the Naodero residence of Benazir Bhutto the other day. Vice Chairman Makhdoom Ameen Faheem presided over it.

Briefing newsmen after the meeting, the acting general secretary of the PPP, Raza Rabbani, said that it took stock of the three issues which emerged from the talks of President Musharraf with the editors and senior journalists of the country.

It was decided in the meeting that no individual or group of individuals could prevent Chairperson Benazir Bhutto from returning home as she would lead the election campaign of the party in the forthcoming elections.

It condemned President Pervez Musharraf for his remarks that Benazir Bhutto had no role to play in the politics of the country saying that it was the fundamental right of Benazir Bhutto and no individual or group of individuals could deprive her of this right.

It elucidated that it was like placing fetters on the fundamental rights of the people of Pakistan.

Regarding the referendum, the meeting observed that President Pervez Musharraf was wrongly interpreting the Constitution, as article 41 of the Constitution clearly stipulates that the president would be elected through the electoral college of the parliament, while article 48 provides for referendum but only on important national issues and that too with the choice of only a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’.

The meeting condemned the PPP-specific accountability and demanded withdrawal of all “false cases” against Benazir Bhutto and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari.

It demanded the immediate release of all political prisoners including Asif Ali Zardari, Jahangir Badar, and Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Raza Rabbani said that the PPP would consult the ARD to formulate a strategy against the referendum.

He informed that the central executive committee of the PPP also condemned Israel for its aggression against the Palestinians and their leader, President Yasser Arafat. It maintained that any harm which befell Mr Arafat would mean taking the world towards turmoil.