Pakistan People's Party has supported the statement of the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on holding of fair and transparent elections in Pakistan by 2007. PPP spokesman ex-senator Farhatullah Babar, in a statement on Friday, welcomed Rice's statement regarding fair polls in Pakistan.
He said the PPP, as a democratic and political force, fully supported Rice's statement wherein she said that the United States and the international community wanted to see free and fair elections in Pakistan.
"This has been the demand of PPP, hence we welcome the statement." He rejected the criticism by the Foreign Office and government's ministers in this regard.
Babar said: "We reject the government stance describing Rice's statement as tantamount to interference with Pakistan's internal affairs. He referred to an official statement regarding the deployment of 10,000 more military troops on the Pak-Afghan border on the demand of Rice.
"If the government does not consider deployment of the military troops on the border as 'intervention', rather feels proud to make the announcement on her arrival, why her concerns about ensuring fair polls are being described as an 'intervention' in the country's internal matters? He posed a question.
Referring to large scale rigging in all polls held under the present set-up, Babar justified international community's concerns to ensure holding of fair polls in the country.
He, however, reiterated that fair polls were impossible under the present setup, so an independent election commission and a neutral government must be formed to ensure fair polls and transfer of power to a genuine civilian elected government, he added.