ISLAMABAD, Nov 16: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday took notice of the advertisements published in the national press which maligned Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Benazir Bhutto.

The chief election commissioner will take up the issue in a meeting scheduled to be held on November 19 and decide on an appropriate action in this regard, says a statement issued by the ECP.

The commission took action after the PPP formally asked Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice (retired) Qazi Mohammad Farooq to take notice of the media campaign allegedly launched by Pakistan Muslim League (PML) against Benazir Bhutto.

A PPP delegation on Friday met ECP Secretary Kunwar Mohammad Dilshad and handed him over a letter addressed to the chief election commissioner by chairman of the PPP’s Election Monitoring Cell Senator Sardar Latif Khan Khosa.

Other members of the delegation were Kamran Zafar, Nazir Dhoki, Palwasha Behram, Sheikh Mansoor and Tariq Malik.

Through the letter, the PPP has drawn the attention of the CEC to an “immoral and indecent media campaign” launched by the PML to malign Ms Bhutto. The PPP members mentioned two advertisements published in the national media on November 14 and 15 that were based on “forgery and out of context press headlines”.

The letter says that ordinarily the name of the advertising agency which has prepared the ad appears with the advertisement, but in this particular case, the name of the advertising agency has not been indicated that shows a clandestine nature of the campaign.

It was asserted in the letter that these advertisements flout the code of conduct for elections on multiple levels as the campaign was being run at the state expense to malign the leadership of the largest political party of the country.

The PPP members also attached the copies of the advertisements with the letter.

They said the advertisement on November 14 was based on a forged letter as Ms Bhutto had never written such a letter nor received any reply. “Hands involved in forging such a letter must be identified. Additionally full page advertisements are being issued on state expense by both the Punjab and federal governments to project certain individuals,” says the letter.

The PPP leaders said an international forensic expert should be hired to carry out audit and prove that the government money was being used for such advertisements.

“The slanderous campaign is against law and against the Code of Conduct and you are to implement the law and the Code of Conduct,” the PPP members asked the CEC in their letter.

The letter further reads, “it has been learnt that the Musharraf regime has also hired a new public relations firm in the US to which it is paying $650,000 to malign the political standing of Ms Bhutto with a view to bring her political opposition”.

Our Attock correspondent adds: The Pakistan People’s Party leader Malik Hakmeen Khan on Friday said that PPP’s chairperson Benazir Bhutto was the last hope for restoration of democracy and civil rule in the country.

Talking to local newsmen here on Friday, Mr Hakmeen said PPP was a symbol of federation, and could pull the country out of the prevailing crisis.

He condemned the ad campaign launched by the Punjab chief minister against Ms Bhutto. He said for publishing a forged letter the government utilised public money, which should be investigated impartially.

He said the PPP was fighting for a liberal and progressive Pakistan, and would continue to support the people in their struggle for their rights.