Washington, Jan 22: Asif Ali Zardari, the co-Chairman of the Pakistan
People’s Party, has asked US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to put
the Musharraf regime "on notice", and added that nothing other than a
"completely clean election process" will be acceptable.

In a letter to Rice, Zardari warned that there would be "negative
consequences" if there is evidence that voting and vote tabulation
processes have been compromised in any way.

He also called on Washington and the international community to
dispatch observers to Pakistan, and to allow them unrestricted movement
and the ability to conduct exit polls, Zardari demanded.

He urged Rice to send "strong messages" to Islamabad asking for the
lifting of all remaining restrictions on journalists, political
parties, lawyers and opposition party activists.

"Those still in jail on ‘trumped-up charges’, should be released. The
present ‘partisan’ governments at the centre and in the provinces must
be replaced, while the Election Commission that has no representation
from two of the four provinces should be reconstituted," he added.

Zardari also expressed the hope that the Bush Administration and the
Congress will support the PPP in its call for an international
UN-sponsored investigation into the assassination of former premier
Benazir Bhutto.

He warned that any "manoeuvring or tampering with the elections, or a
questionable investigation" into the Benazir murder case would only
increase the risk of people taking their discontent into the streets,
the Daily Times reported. (ANI)