LAHORE, July 28: Punjab PPP Information Secretary Farzana Raja has called upon the Chief Election Commissioner to restrain Gen Pervez Musharraf from taking part in the ruling party meetings as his participation shows his partiality.

If the general continues to support the PML, free and fair general elections cannot be expected, she said at a news conference here on Friday.

Ms Raja recalled that the CEC had said in a recent statement that the president could not attend meetings of political parties. But, she regretted, that the general ignored the CEC’s views, after which it was imperative that the latter should take due notice of the situation.

She said if the CEC was not in a position to prevent pre-poll rigging, he could not be expected to ward off the election-day manipulations.

About the cases being pursued by the NAB against Ms Benazir Bhutto, she said it was mere waste of money as the government would not be able to prove anything against the former prime minister.

She recalled that cases instituted against Ms Bhutto after her dismissal in 1990 had also proved baseless, and the situation would be no different this time as well.

She alleged that the resignations tendered by the MQM ministers were nothing but what she called a drama.