International observers review polling in Pakistan

Islamabad, Feb 18 (UNI) Election observers from the US and European countries today visited various polling stations in the federal capital and the garrison town of Rawalpindi.

Polling for general elections in the country began this morning amid unprecedented security.

The observers talked to the polling staff and polling agents of the candidates and reviewed various stages of the process, Geo TV reported.

More than 500 international observers have reached Pakistan to monitor the polls.

Though President Musharraf has time and again asserted that the polls would be conducted in a fair manner, the people of Pakistan as well as the international community remain sceptical that the establishment would do every thing to ensure that the results come out in its favour.

An audio tape was released by Human Rights Watch on Friday, in which Attorney General Malik Mohammad Qayyum was claimed to have been telling someone over the phone that the polls would be ''massively rigged''.

UNI XC YA DS1225