By IANS
Islamabad : Pakistan's poll panel chief has termed public addresses of President Pervez Musharraf as "inappropriate".
Chief Election Commissioner Qazi Muhammad Farooq Saturday expressed displeasure with Musharraf's speeches ahead of parliamentary elections.
"It was not appropriate for the man holding the country's top office to address public meetings," the Daily Times quoted Farooq as saying.
Mushrraf, who has promised elections later this year, had said he would address the nation, on TV and radio, to make "an important announcement".
Musharraf, who also heads the army, has been addressing public rallies since he seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999.
He speaks mostly on political issues and launches virulent attacks on his critics and political opponents.
In recent speeches, the president has made it clear that the two exiled former prime ministers, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, cannot participate in the forthcoming elections, drawing sharp reactions from them.
Meanwhile, a delegation of the rightwing conglomerate Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) met the election commissioner and sought action to prevent the president from making political speeches.
At a function last week, Musharraf said that those unhappy with the process of registration of voters can boycott the elections.