CHITRAL, March 27: Amir of Jamaat-i-Islami, NWFP, Professor Mohammad Ibrahim Khan has demanded of the government to make the Election Commission an autonomous body by appointing a serving judge in order to ensure the forthcoming general elections are free, fair and transparent.

Talking to Dawn here on Wednesday, he said that Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) “has been converted into an electoral alliance” and a formal announcement in this respect will be made on April 2.

He added that the alliance may consider seat adjustment with the PML-N and other secular parties on seat-to-seat basis. He was sanguine the alliance would sweep the polls as the prevailing situation “has convinced the masses that only the religious parties can deliver them and drive the country out of the morass it has fallen into.”

He said his party will highlight the issues of corruption, unemployment, price-hike and the deteriorating law and order situation. “The rulers are trying to lull the masses into sleep in the false hope of American aid while the US itself is on the brink of economic collapse.”