<i>Western media ignored Pakistan polls 'rigging'</i>

Benazir Bhutto's niece yesterday accused Western media of irresponsibility in their reporting of Pakistan, saying they disregarded heavy rigging in last month's polls -- including by Benazir Bhutto's party.
Fatima Bhutto, herself a journalist, said she witnessed widespread rigging when she visited polling stations in Sindh province during the elections, which saw President Pervez Musharraf's backers heavily defeated.
"We turned on CNN and we turned on the BBC and we were told, Musharraf has lost, it's a sign for democracy, he's accepted defeat quite gracefully.... You've had elections, good job, you've done wonderfully, because the president hasn't won.
"But in Pakistan, the situation looked quite different," said Fatima in a speech at the Foreign Correspondents' Club here.
"To say there was rigging in the February 18 elections is an understatement.... It wasn't just rigging, it was quite open, unapologetic rigging. It was no longer under the table, it was very much on top."
Fatima said the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), led by her aunt until her death last year, had engaged in "unapologetic" rigging to win its landslide election victory.
"They were taking this election one way or another," she said.
Pakistan's polls were originally scheduled for January, but were postponed following Benazir Bhutto's murder after an election rally on December 27.