Counting starts after Pakistan elections

Islamabad/Dubai: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's political future looked bleak as his loyalists fared badly in the critical parliamentary elections on Monday.

The Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q), the party supported by Musharraf, was lagging behind its rivals - the Pakistan Peoples Party of slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and PML (N), led by former premier Nawaz Sharif.

Musharraf's close associates, including Shaikh Rashid Ahmad, former information minister, and Hamayun Akhtar, former commerce minister, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, PML-Q president, Fazalur Rahman, former opposition leader, were on the verge of losing the election at the time of going to the press. Shaikh Rashid and Shujaat Hussain were trailing badly in the both the seats they were contesting.

Musharraf last night said he would accept the results of the elections and urged everyone to do so.

"This is the voice of the nation … The results must be accepted by all including me gracefully," the president said, speaking in a live programme on the state-run television.

After casting his vote a polling station in Rawalpindi, Musharraf told the media he remained committed to his policy of political reconciliation in the larger interest of the country.

24 killed in poll violence

He said it was vital that the next government stayed in power for its five-year constitutional tenure to ensure the econ-omic progress and continuation of the fight against terrorism and extremism.

Earlier, people defied bombings and shootings to vote in the elections. Fear of violence kept many voters away from the polls despite 80,000 troops providing support to police. At least 24 people were killed in poll-related violence.

There were no major terrorist attacks, but in North West Frontier Province a polling station was targeted by a bomb at Hangu and there were three blasts in Swat valley.

More than 7,000 candidates were in the race for about 268 seats in the National Assembly and 570 general seats in assemblies in Punjab, Sindh, North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Balochistan.

The carnage may have been less than some expected, but US Senator John Kerry said fear stopped many people from voting.

"It's intimidating people from coming to the polls ... it's not a great atmos-phere," Kerry told reporters after observing the election in Lahore.

- With additional inputs from Aftab Kazmi, Bureau Chief