Gen to address nation today, end campaign

The announcement about his address was made as a nine-member Supreme Court bench on Saturday dismissed a spate of petitions from mainstream political parties questioning the legality of the referendum and upheld it as a valid exercise.

While top political and religious parties denounced the Supreme Court verdict, Musharraf welcomed it saying that it was an ‘‘encouragement’’ for his government.

‘‘This order has confirmed my belief that referendum is according to the law and Constitution,’’ he told a meeting of district officials at Larkhan in Sindh where he addressed a meeting on Saturday night.

He also paid tributes to the Supreme Court at his press meeting in Karachi on Sunday for the ‘‘historic’’ judgement. He also addressed a public rally in Karachi on Sunday exhorting people to vote for him.

He told reporters he would bring in amendments to the Constitution empowering the military-dominated National Security Council as part of his plan to put checks and balances between the President, Prime Minister and the Chief of the Army.

Musharraf also said he was considering cutting the current five-year term of Parliament before elections. “Whether it should be four years, three years or should be kept like today, this we could announce before the elections,’’ he told a news conference. He added that any proposal to cut Parliament’s term would be made public “at least one month prior to the decision so that there is a thorough discussion on it’’.

Reiterating that the reforms initiated by his government were irreversible, he said: ‘‘should anyone try to reverse these reforms or act in a manner which is against the national interest, the NSC will play its role.’’