September 14, 2002	Saturday	Rajab 6, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Sept 13: A delegation of the National Alliance met the European Union observers here on Friday in an attempt to debunk the “propaganda” that the opposition parties have been making against the electoral process during their meetings with the EU mission.

The delegation, led by the alliance’s secretary-general, Mohammad Ali Durrani, and comprising Millat Party Assistant Secretary-General Ayla Malik, Raja Shoaib Adil and Dr Zahoor Qureshi, told EU observer Mr Oskar and political expert Plamen Tonchev that the Musharraf government had taken sufficient steps to ensure free, fair and transparent elections.

It demanded of the EU to take note of the electioneering through newspaper advertisements and other means by former rulers, who, it alleged, had been spending the money that they had looted from the national exchequer and siphoned off into their foreign accounts.

Later, at a press briefing, Mohammad Ali Durrani said the alliance, in its memorandum to the EU, had protested against the Indian foreign minister’s adverse comments about the October elections, and demanded that the EU take note of the “blatant interference in our internal affairs”.

“We expressed our concern over lack of standard measures in the Indian held Kashmir, where the Indian government has planned elections beginning next week that have been boycotted by all mainstream Kashmiri parties,” he said and demanded that the EU send a team of observers to the Indian held Kashmir to monitor the so-called elections there.

Mr Durrani claimed that two major parties, whose leaders had been debarred from contesting the elections because of what he termed their wrongdoings, had started sending home huge amounts of money for electioneering.

“Advertisements worth millions of rupees are being published in local newspapers through supposed supporters of the two party leaders but we have proofs that it is the ill-gotten money that is being spent” said the NA leader.

He said, “We have settled the seat adjustment issue in Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab and talks are under way in the NWFP after which the final list will be released.”