QUETTA, Sept 23: Leader of opposition in the Balochistan Assembly Kachkol Ali Baloch has appealed to the Commonwealth and European Union to take notice of the government’s unlawful act of arresting APDM leaders prior to the presidential elections.

In a statement issued here on Sunday, Mr Kachkol said the army ruler was using state machinery for his presidential campaign, the government was not prepared to allow leaders of the opposition led by the APDM to remain in their houses.

He warned that the government’s high-handedness was a trailer of the general elections to be supervised by the dictator, adding that without fair presidential polls it would be difficult to expect that the general elections would be free and transparent.

The opposition leader condemned the unlawful arrests of the APDM leadership and said the establishment wanted to elect Gen Musharraf in the so-called presidential polls by hook and crook and added that the polls held under force would be unacceptable to the people.

Kachkol Ali Baloch said that in such a situation it was the responsibility of the international community, Commonwealth and European Union to ensure that the presidential and general polls be conducted in a democratic manner in accordance with the requirements of the Constitution.