NAWABSHAH: President Mohammad Ayub Khan declared here today [Dec 2] that he was not in favour of being elected for a 20-year term of office.

The suggestion was made to the President while he was addressing the Basic Democrats, MNAs, MPAs, prominent citizens and officials on his arrival here from Karachi.

The President said that there were many able men and women in the country who would choose the right man, a patriot, to lead the country in a good way.

He said he was in favour of Presidential elections being held every five years as provided by the Constitution and everything should be done in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

He said he wanted the people to exercise their right of franchise granted to them under the Constitution. He also wanted to see the Constitution become part of life in Pakistan.

Stressing the need for unity, the President said the country was passing through a critical period and needed unity to safeguard national interests.

[Meanwhile, as reported by Our Staff Correspondent from Dacca,] the Industries Minis­ter, Mr Altaf Husain, today introduced in the Nati­onal Assembly a Bill to establish standards of wei­ghts and measures based on the metric system.

The Bill, called the Weights and Measures (Metric System) Bill, aims at the gradual introduction of the metric system of weights and measures in the country. It seeks to remove diversity of weights and measures prevailing in the country, and facilitate transaction of international trade as the metric system is in vogue in 70 countries of the world and recognised by many others.

According to the statement of objects and reasons of the Bill, the decimal method of calculation available under the metric system will lead to wider use of mechanical calculators in the field of industry, trade and science and will contribute to the speedier economic progress of the country.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2016