A US Congressional team travelling to Pakistan to observe its parliamentary election warned President Pervez Musharraf's administration of "consequences' if the polls were not free, fair and transparent.
"Let's focus on free, fair, transparent elections and then if we don't see that, then we'll deal with the consequences of that," Republican Senator Chuck Hagel told reporters ahead of Monday's elections. He did not say what the consequences would be.
Democratic Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joseph Biden, who will lead the bipartisan Congressional election observer team, called for a shift in US-Pakistan relations policy which he said just hinged on Musharraf.
"I've been arguing for some time that we need to move from a policy based on personalities - Musharraf - to one based on the entire country and its people - Pakistan," he said.
"We need a new approach to Pakistan, including a significant increase in non-military assistance coupled with real transparency and accountability in the military aid we continue to provide," Biden said. Musharraf pledged on Thursday that the elections would be free, fair and transparent, but warned opposition groups not to protest against the result if they did not accept it.
Opposition figures have accused Musharraf's government of trying to rig the elections in favour of his allies, in a bid to avoid possible impeachment by a hostile parliament.