August 9, 2002	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 29,1423

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 8: Jamaat-i-Islami chief, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, on Thursday said, “though there was little hope of fair polls under the Musharraf regime, the political parties, by their participation, wanted to ensure the revival of parliament.

Talking to media after his 40-minute meeting with the European mission of observers Qazi said, we believe they (EU mission) are independent and will report their evaluations without influence or interference by any one.

“As far as we are concerned it is very difficult say that the president will ensure fair elections after getting himself elected through an illegitimate referendum, and then his insistence that “whatever the outcome of October polls” he will continue in the highest office.

He said we have shown our apprehensions to the EU mission that in the presence of “one-sided amendments to the Constitution and electoral reforms” meant to influence legitimacy of elections, no one would believe that October polls would be free and fair.