ISLAMABAD, Feb 13: The Foreign Office said on Wednesday that about 500 foreign observers and representatives of diplomatic missions in Islamabad would be in the country to monitor the Feb 18 elections.

At his weekly press briefing, spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said it would be wrong to say that the EU observers’ mission was the only and the most important group to monitor the polls. “There are a number of important observers other than the EU observers who are coming to cover the elections, including US Senators and Congressmen and members of the British Parliament.”

After the EU that has the largest contingent of 124 members, including 12 members of European Parliament, the United States had put in the second biggest group. Election observers are also coming from Japan, Austria, Norway, Switzerland, India and the OIC.