Musharraf says he will play father figure to next PM

ISLAMABAD: Balloting got off to a slow start on Monday in Pakistan���s crucial general election as voters appeared to be wary of violence while the Opposition accused the government of rigging the poll, which is viewed as a litmus test for beleaguered President Pervez Musharraf.

Clashes between political workers, forcible stamping of ballots at a handful of polling stations in Sindh and Punjab provinces and two blasts in Balochistan���s capital Quetta were reported. An election official was arrested in Shikarpur in Sindh after complaints from voters that hundreds of ballot papers were missing from a polling station.

Urban centres did witness some brisk polling with a turnout of about 30% in cities like Islamabad and Lahore by 10 a.m. In parts of north-western Pakistan, which witnessed widespread violence during the campaign, very few people were seen exercising their franchise despite the extensive security arrangements made for the crucial polls.

Hours before the polls, southern Balochistan province was rocked by a series of 20 blasts while a PML-N candidate and three other persons were gunned down in two incidents of violence in Lahore.

PML-N leader Shahbaz Sharif blamed Mr Musharraf���s main ally, PML (Q), for the killing of its candidate Asif Ashraf. ���The ruling party is trying to intimidate voters into staying away. If the Opposition fails to get two-thirds majority it means the polls are rigged,��� he said.

Slain former premier Benazir Bhutto���s husband Asif Ali Zardari, who is co-chairman of Pakistan People���s Party, also condemned the killing and demanded the arrest of the culprits. ���We will make the authorities accountable for the murder,��� PML (N) chief Nawaz Sharif said.

Suspected militants also blew up a polling station in the restive Swat Valley in north-western Pakistan.Wary of possible violence, many voters kept away from polling stations in the first few hours after the polls began at 8 a.m. across the country. The Election Commission terminated polling in two provincial assembly constituencies in the North West Frontier Province, including one in Swat.

Polling was also put off in the north-western city of Parachinar, where a suicide bombing on the last day of campaigning on Saturday killed 49 people and injured over 100.

Over 81 million voters are eligible to take part in the polling.Alleging that the government will resort to ���massive rigging��� to benefit the ruling PML-Q, Opposition parties like the PPP and the PML-N have warned that they will launch street protests if they are denied victory in the polls. Mr Musharraf, who could face possible impeachment if the Opposition secures a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly and unites against him, has pledged the elections will be free and fair. Mr Musharraf���s spokesman Rashid Qureshi said while ���one or two incidents of violence��� had been reported, they were ���normal���.

On allegations of rigging, Mr Qureshi said, ���It is so unfortunate as the Election Commission and the president himself have gone out of their way to remove all problems.��� Mr Musharraf has also made it clear that he will tolerate no protests after the elections to the national and four provincial assemblies, and said he will play a ���father figure��� to the next premier.

As part of the strict security arrangements, the government has deployed 81,000 troops and nearly 400,000 police personnel to provide security to the more than 64,000 polling stations, a third of which have been declared sensitive. Recent opinion polls have shown that a majority of Pakistanis fear the polling will not be free and fair. The surveys have also predicted that the PPP and PML-N are likely to emerge the two largest groups with the PML-Q in a distant third place.