Election monitors from the European Union cast doubt on Wednesday on the fairness of Monday’s parliamentary elections in Pakistan, citing cases of authorities favouring the for­mer ruling party, which is allied to Pervez Musharraf, the president, during the campaign.

Even so, it was the opponents of Mr Musharraf who emer­ged victorious, with the late Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s party (PPP) winning most seats in the National Assembly. The pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid e Azam) suffered big losses.