Court to decide Pakistan's referendum

Pakistan's supreme court has begun hearings on whether a planned referendum to extend president Pervez Musharraf's term of office is unconstitutional.

Three petitions brought by opposition groups and a team of Supreme Court lawyers have said the referendum would be unconstitutional.

A lawyer for one of the petitioners, the religious fundamentalist Jamaat-i-Islami party, said the case would decide the fate of the nation.

The hearings come only eight days before the referendum itself, due on the thirtieth of April.

Opposition parties have called for a boycott of the vote. President Musharraf, who announced the plan earlier this month, has denied that the move is unconstitutional.

He says he is presenting himself before the people to end uncertainty in the country.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service