Pakistan has rejected criticism made by the European Union that the country's elections, last week, were flawed.

Military ruler General Pervez Musharraf said the poll had been 'free and fair'.

Senior Pakistani officials believe the muted response by the United States on the allegations of pre-poll manipulations is an indirect endorsement of the election process.

John Cushnahan: Critical of elections

The BBC's correspondent in Islamabad, Zaffar Abbas, says such criticism is not likely to affect President Musharraf's relations with the Western countries.

No overall majority

Results from Thursday's election give a party allied to President Pervez Musharraf the most seats, but it is well short of an overall majority.

In a preliminary report, the EU observers said the authorities had misused state resources to favour political parties, especially the Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam.

Official results

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

EU chief observer John Cushnahan said the Pakistani military authorities engaged in "unjustified interference with electoral arrangements and the democratic process".

"Regrettably... the Pakistan authorities engaged in a course of action which resulted in serious flaws in the electoral process," Mr Cushnahan said.

The observers also accused General Musharraf of hampering the election campaign by restricting rallies and banning processions.

And they criticised the new constitutional amendments made by General Musharraf before the elections, which include giving him the right to dismiss parliament.

But they also said a number of steps had been taken to improve the electoral process, including reducing the voter age to 18 and reserving seats in parliament for women.

And the observers praised polling staff for performing their duties in often difficult conditions.

Religious revival

It was Pakistan's first general election since General Musharraf seized power in a coup in 1999.

A coalition of religious parties which criticised General Musharraf for backing the American military campaign in Afghanistan did much better than expected, coming a strong third after the party of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Benazir Bhutto: Concerns about poll rigging

Observers say the religious parties could hold the balance of power.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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