KARACHI, Feb 24: The Senior Vice President of Millat Party, Javed Jabbar, said on Monday that the party and alliance-related factors, as well as non-party factors which caused ‘severe distortions in pre-poll phase” had compelled him to withdraw from the Senate elections.

“So blatant has the covert manipulation been in the pre-poll phase that one wishes that independent national and international election observers were invited to monitor and report on the conduct of the Senate elections and the pre-poll phase.

“This should certainly be done in future Senate elections on the lines of the elections held for the national and provincial assemblies,” maintained Mr Jabbar.