SUKKUR, April 18: President Gen Pervez Musharraf said here on Thursday that referendum was legal and constitutional, and added that opponents’ objections in this regard were not justified.

Addressing a public meeting, Gen Musharraf said legal experts had been consulted on the matter who had assured him that the referendum was in accordance with the Constitution.

Referring to the objections of the opponents over official money being spent on the referendum campaign, he brushed aside them, saying such criticism was aimed at creating uncertainty.

The president said he favoured a powerful prime minister and declared that after the referendum he would ensure a government in which the prime minister and parliament would have a supreme role. However, he added, there would be a check and balance to nourish the democratic process.

In the past, he said, leg pulling between the prime minister and the president had strained the democratic system and added that in the future it would be ensured that democracy remained free from such threats.

He said that a real democracy would be set into motion after the October elections under which the government would be allowed to complete its tenure and provinces would be given their due share of power.

The president expressed the confidence that his short-term and long-term strategies would pay dividend.

He said the water storage capacity of Mangla and Tarbela Dams had diminished because of accumulation of silt in their beds and added that the country would have to build at least 10 more dams to counter the situation.

Gen Musharraf appealed to the people of Sindh to shun their anxiety on dams, saying: “I know people are allergic about a dam but for storing water for agriculture we will have to make more dams.”

The president said he would not allow anyone to usurp Sindh’s share of water.

He said the eradication of poverty was his government’s top priority, and added that the needy would be given Zakat up to Rs50,000.

Earlier, Sindh Governor Mohammedmian Soomro said the election of President Musharraf in the referendum was must for the continuation of his reforms after the forthcoming elections.

Sukkur District Nazim Syed Nasir Hussain Shah demanded of the president to establish engineering and medical colleges and an information technology university in the city.

Sardar Ali Gohar Maher and Masroor Jatoi, district Nazims of Ghotki and Naushahro Feroze, respectively, also spoke.