ISLAMABAD, Nov 29: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairperson Benazir Bhutto on Thursday met the ambassadors of European Union (EU) countries in Islamabad and asked them to send observers from their respective countries to monitor the forthcoming general elections in the country.

Sources told Dawn that Ms Bhutto briefed the EU diplomats on the current political situation in the country and the party’s reservations on the issue of holding free and fair polls under Gen (retired) Musharraf.

The meeting was held at the residence of the ambassador of Portugal, which is the current president of the EU, and attended by the ambassadors of Austria, Bulgaria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, European Union, Finland, Greece, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland and the UK high commissioner.

Ms Bhutto was assisted by Senator Enver Baig, Palwasha Behram and former senator Farhatullah Babar.

The sources said the ambassadors showed their willingness to bring election monitors in Pakistan, but surprisingly they told Ms Bhutto that the Pakistani embassies in their countries were not cooperating with them and creating hurdles in the issuance of visas to the monitors.

According to a handout issued by the PPP Media Centre, Ms Bhutto during her meeting with the EU ambassadors said Gen Musharraf had shed uniform and the party considered it a welcome development and a step in the right direction. She said hopefully it would reduce the military’s interference in politics and ultimately lead to full democracy and supremacy of the Parliament. However, she said a lot more was required to be done to ensure free and fair elections.

Listing the measures, she said lifting of emergency, an independent Election Commission, stopping local bodies with guns and money from interfering in the elections, independent judiciary, implementation of the 26-point charter of the PPP were some of the measures that needed to be taken for free polls.

Ms Bhutto said critical issues in manipulating elections revolved round improvised polling stations, manipulation in ballot boxes by stuffing them with bogus votes and large scale transfers of officials to bring in pliant officers to stuff the ballot boxes with bogus votes.

She said the PPP had welcomed the European Parliament’s recent resolution unequivocally demanding an end to martial law and restoration of 1973 constitution. She said they were very pleased with the EU resolution expressing solidarity with the legitimate protests by thousands of political workers, lawyers, civil society and human rights activists.

She said the expression of solidarity by the EU with the civil society and democratic parties in Pakistan and demanding an end to martial law was a source of encouragement to the movement for the restoration of democracy in the country, she said.

She said the concerns expressed by the EU over the usurpation of freedom of the press, independence of judiciary, freedom of expression and assembly and freedom of political activity as the hallmarks of a civilised political system was deeply appreciated by the people.

She said the support extended by the EU reminded the people of Pakistan that they were not alone in their struggle and that they had the support of peoples and nations of the European community.