A party allied to Pakistan's military leader has won the most seats in the country's first general elections since the overthrow of the last democratically-elected government three years ago.

Official results (at 0800 GMT)

Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal - 45 seats Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam - 77 Pakistan People's Party - 63 Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz - 14 Others - 68 Poll void in one constituency There will be repolling in two constituencies

But a coalition of religious parties which has criticised President Pervez Musharraf for backing the American military campaign in Afghanistan has done much better than expected, coming a strong third.

Observers say the religious parties could hold the balance of power, as no one party will have a majority in the new assembly.

The Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam, seen as supportive of General Musharraf, won 77 of the 272 contested constituency seats, according to the official count.

The Pakistan People's Party, aligned with former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto - who was banned from participating - came in second with 63 seats, while the religious Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) won 45.

Divided nation

The BBC's Susannah Price in Islamabad says it is clear that three years of military rule by General Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup, have left the country divided.

Traditionally, the religious parties have had trouble winning seats, but the MMA's anti-US message went down particularly well in areas bordering Afghanistan, where there had been some support for the Taleban.

Benazir Bhutto: Concerns about poll rigging

Our correspondent says that although General Musharraf has declared his full backing for the US operations, it is clear he has not taken the whole country with him.

The military leader has pledged to hand over executive control to a new prime minister, but General Musharraf will retain the ability to dismiss parliament after adding five years to his term in a controversial referendum earlier this year.

Human rights activists and opposition parties say this amounts to a controlled democracy and have called for him to allow the newly elected members of parliament to run the country.

'Inexplicable delay'

Mrs Bhutto, speaking from London, questioned what her party says was an inexplicable delay in the counting of the ballots and announcing the results.

"It has been a highly controversial election and we believe there has been widespread rigging," she said.

The party aligned with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, won 14 seats - and he also criticised the election.

The election is the first in Pakistan for five years

Mr Sharif, who was overthrown by General Musharraf and accused of corruption, was also banned from participation.

He told Reuters from Saudi Arabia that he had no doubt "the worst kind of rigging" was going on.

However, Commonwealth election observers say the elections, held on Thursday, were transparent, although they have expressed concern about allegations that government resources were used to help pro-Musharraf candidates.

General Musharraf promised the elections would be free and fair, but opponents have accused him of distorting the political landscape by barring two former premiers and strengthening his own powers.

'Anti-American feeling'

The BBC's world affairs correspondent Mike Wooldridge, who is in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, says the main surprise of the election has been the performance of the Islamic MMA.

"People wanted a change from the past corrupt rulers and the pro-US policies of General Musharraf," said MMA spokesman Qazi Hussain Ahmed.

Musharraf has promised to end military rule

"The widespread anti-American feeling among the people has clearly gone in our favour and we are very happy over it," he said.

In Pakistan's largest province, Punjab, the pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam was the leader.

Mrs Bhutto's party won many seats in Punjab and southern Sindh, while Mr Sharif's supporters performed badly in their traditional stronghold in Punjab.

The United States welcomed the election as "an important milestone in Pakistan's ongoing transition to democracy".

But India's Foreign Minister, Yaswant Sinha, said the results and the strong showing by religious parties demonstrated that General Musharraf had failed to control the country's extremists.