Islamabad, Oct 11: Attributing the strong showing
by Pakistan's hardline religious parties in general elections
to "fraudulent" poll process of President Pervez Musharraf's
government, exiled former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and
Nawaz Sharif questioned the credibility of the polls.
Bhutto, whose Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarian (PPPP) was on a neck to neck race with Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) supported by Musharraf, expressed serious concern over the strong showing by the six pro-Taliban religious party alliance Muthahida Majlis-E- Amal (MMA) which has won in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and emerged as a strong political force in Baluchistan assembly and national assembly.
"It was because of pre-poll rigging and tampering with
the ballot boxes that religious parties have won in
Baluchistan and the frontier province," Bhutto was quoted as
saying by local daily the nation.
She ruled out any alliance with MMA to form a government
at the Centre saying there was "a wide gulf" between the PPP
and the religious parties vis-a-vis their policies.
MMA is expected to win over 35 seats in the national
assembly.
The religious right had emerged victorious in the NWFP
and Baluchistan because of the marginalisation of mainstream
political parties by the military government, Bhutto said,
adding, "I am concerned at the rise of the religious parties."
Bureau Report
