Islamabad: Pakistan's ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Quaide Azam (PML-Q) party won four national Assembly seats securing a comfortable majority for the coalition government, while hard-line Islamic alliance Muttahida Majlis-e Amal (MMA), riding on an anti-US plank, bagged three in byelections, in which three Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) activists were killed in poll-related violence, results showed on January 16.

Pro-military PML-Q of Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali won four seats and an independent supported by it also emerged victorious in byelections for 10 national Assembly seats on January 15, amid last minute boycott by PPP alleging serious irregularities and harassment of its candidates.

MMA, consisting of six religious parties, continued to en cash on the prevailing anti-US sentiments. MMA's main electoral plank in the byelections was the US decision to make it mandatory for Pakistanis living in America to get themselves registered.

It won two national Assembly seats in North West Frontier Province (NWFP), where it is in power.

MMA also registered a surprise victory over PML-Q in Rawalpindi, defeating the nephew of Information Minister Sheikh Rashid. The byelections for one of the two Rawalpindi Parliamentary seats was held after Rashid, who won both seats as independent in the October elections resigned from one.

Rashid later attributed MMA's anti-US campaign as one of the main factors for the defeat.

Muthahida Quami Movement, which has joined the PML-Q alliance, won a seat in its stronghold of Karachi.

Three PPP workers were killed and several injured in clashes during the polling in Sindh province.

PTI