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Pakistan tense ahead of general polls tomorrow

A suicide car-bomb attack outside a Pakistani election candidate's office killed 27 people yesterday, two days before crucial national elections that a top electoral official said had no chance of being rigged.

The attack in the town of Parachinar in the Kurram region on the Afghan border occurred as supporters of a candidate were going into his office after a rally, witnesses said.

"Twenty-seven deaths have been confirmed and 90 people were wounded," said Fida Mohammad, a top government official.

The elections are taking place against a backdrop of rising Islamic militancy throughout Pakistan.

Military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said 81,000 soldiers had been deployed to back up the 392,000 police assigned to protect the voting and to maintain order in the aftermath.

Public disenchantment after eight years of military rule, as well as sympathy for Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in a Dec. 27 suicide attack, seemed likely to propel the opposition to victory over the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q party.

On the final day of campaigning, the two top opposition figures -- Bhutto's husband Asif Ali Zardari and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif -- conferred over lunch yesterday in the eastern city of Lahore. They issued no statement following the meeting.

Human rights organizations and opposition politicians have warned that officials might try to manipulate the results of tomorrow's elections, when Pakistanis will choose a national parliament and provincial assemblies.

US Senator Joseph Biden told reporters in Washington on Friday that if that happens, the US should consider cutting military aid to the government of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Washington's key ally in the war against terror.

Biden, the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said rigged elections would probably spark rioting throughout Pakistan.

Kanwar Dilshad, the No. 2 figure in the Election Commission of Pakistan, said his organization had made sure that candidates will have a fair chance in the voting regardless of their political affiliations.

"We are neutral. A level playing field has been provided to all the contesting candidates, and we are doing our job to ensure free, fair, transparent and peaceful elections," Dilshad said.

Despite those assurances, human rights groups and opposition leaders have been sharply critical of the election commission, alleging it has ignored complaints of pressure and harassment against candidates opposed to Musharraf.

"There have been numerous complaints of improper government assistance to the ruling party and illegal interference with opposition activities," Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a recent statement.

"But the election commission has done nothing significant to address these problems, raising serious questions about its impartiality," Adams said.

Human Rights Watch cited complaints, including police obstruction of opposition rallies and the removal of lawful opposition banners and billboards.
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