Washington, Dec 4: A cell headed by a former ISI official has been created by the Pakistan Government to rig the January 8 polls, a US based paper has claimed.

According to Robert Novak, a retired brigadier is heading the alleged cell.

The Washington Post quoted Novak as saying that the retired brigadier would play a key role in election rigging.

In his article for the paper, Novak writes that Washington’s lukewarm support for democracy has annoyed the Pakistani establishment, so much that it has launched a proxy war against the US with the help of pro-establishment journalists.

Washington is being accused of using its plea for democracy as an excuse to weaken the Pakistani military.

The paper claims that Benazir Bhutto, although backed by the US, is unacceptable to the Pakistani establishment.

According to Novak, Islamabad prefers Nawaz Sharif to Bhutto.

Washington, however, believes Sharif "would be a nightmare for US interests because of his Islamist links, Novak concludes. (ANI)