[Sreekar]

Commonwealth Suspends Pakistan for Imposing Emergency Rule
(source:VOA News - Voice of America Homepage)

The Commonwealth has suspended Pakistan, after President Pervez Musharraf failed to meet a deadline to lift emergency rule and resign as army chief.

The 53-member Commonwealth announced last week that President Musharraf had until Thursday to lift the state of emergency he imposed on November third.

The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, known as CMAG, decided that recent steps, such as the release of hundreds of prisoners in recent days, are not enough. Security forces continue to enforce strict emergency laws.

Speaking to the press in Kampala, Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon noted that Pakistan was suspended before, in 1999, after General Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup. McKinnon said Pakistan had lost substantial benefits of Commonwealth membership.


"We did suspend Pakistan back in 1999," said Don McKinnon. "They ceased to get general assistance from the Commonwealth. They weren't able to attend meetings, which to that point they did enjoy being at. They can be very influential in Commonwealth ministerial meetings all around the Commonwealth. By and large, within a year of that suspension, they were very keen to come back to the Commonwealth. So, they clearly did appreciate the benefits of membership, used the benefits of membership to the full. That is now once again lost to them."


CMAG re-admitted Pakistan in 2004 after the Commonwealth recognized that democratic progress had been made. British Foreign Secretary David Milliband, speaking in Kampala, said the decision was unanimous. He expressed optimism for democratic progress and re-admission of Pakistan.


"This decision was taken in sorrow, not in anger," said David Milliband. "You will see very practical steps that the Commonwealth is determined to take to reach out to Pakistan, including the possibility of a CMAG mission to Pakistan. We're all clear that the choices are for Pakistan now to make the changes that are in its interest, nationally and internationally, and then to re-enter the Commonwealth as a proud and valued member."


CMAG was established in 1995 to deal with violations of Commonwealth rules on democracy. It has nine members, including Papua New Guinea, Malta, Lesotho, Malaysia, St. Lucia and the United Kingdom. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting officially opens with a ceremony in Kampala Friday, without any representation from Pakistan.

-Thanks much,
Sreekar

[rudraphysio]

thank you very much... very informative article

[chanda_s]

i have failed to understand in 1999, in 2004 and even now. can you brow beat a dictator by expelling the country from commonwealth. i doubt if it makes any difference to musharraf whether or not pakistan is part of commonwealth. after all it does not have anything in common with the other countries of the commonwealth.

[cholan]

useful thanks

[satish]

Let us see what happens to Pakistan's membership when Kamlesh Sharma takes over ?.

[Sreekar]

Pakistan could be back in Commonwealth soon
(source:Hindustan Times: Latest Breaking News from India, Cricket, Bollywood, World, Business, Videos)

Pakistan could find itself back in the Commonwealth fold by the time the global group's new secretary general, India's Kamalesh Sharma, takes over on April 1 next year.

Pakistan's Commonwealth membership was suspended November 22 after President Pervez Musharraf imposed a state of national emergency. But Pakistan has been told by a powerful political group within the Commonwealth that it will review the suspension as soon as it detects changes on the ground in that country, according to reliable diplomatic sources in London.

The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), which consists of the foreign ministers of nine countries, is understood to have told Islamabad that it will meet to review the situation as soon as it sees movement on the basic demands made by the 53-nation Commonwealth.

For Pakistan's suspension to be reviewed, Musharraf must shed his army uniform, which he has already done, repeal emergency provisions, that he has promised to do, restore the constitution, release political detainees, lift media curbs and hold general elections by Jan. 15, 2008.
There appears to be a degree of cautious expectation that Pakistan will make the desired changes before Sharma, at present India's high commissioner to Britain, moves from India House to the stately Marlborough House in London.

Nevertheless, Musharraf's moves to set up an interim government are being watched closely. He also has to ensure that he takes all the steps that would make next year's planned general elections credible.
Islamabad reportedly made an informal request for its membership not to be suspended in the days before Commonwealth leaders met in Kampala for their biennial summit November 23-25, promising to take the steps demanded of it if given more time.
But CMAG, which is responsible for deciding what to do with member-states who seriously and persistently violate basic democratic values and human rights, turned down the bid to buy time.
The group of foreign ministers is mindful of the fact that although Pakistan's previous suspension was lifted in 2004, Musharraf continued to fill the dual role of army chief and president for three more years. As a result, Islamabad's request apparently did not go down well, well-placed diplomatic sources say.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that Pakistan was among a group of South Asian countries that encouraged New Delhi to field a candidate for the Commonwealth secretary general's post. In discussions at a SAARC meeting earlier this year, these countries assured India of their support for its candidate.

New Delhi was told that 2007 being 'Asia's turn' for secretary-generalship, India should not let the opportunity lapse and that its candidate would not be opposed by South Asia.

Sharma, asked about Pakistan in a recent interview, has said that as secretary general, he will show an "absolutely equal consideration in terms of goodwill and respect" towards all the members of the Commonwealth.

However, Pakistan's role within the Commonwealth throws up larger questions than merely democratic reforms at home.
It remains to be seen, for instance, how the Commonwealth under Sharma's leadership will approach with the United Sates-led war on terrorism.

Signs are that Sharma is a believer in the traditional strengths of the Commonwealth - the two legs of development and good governance - and prefers to leave the job of fighting terrorism to the United Nations. And his belief appears to be based on experience.

It was Sharma who introduced the draft of the Global Convention on Terrorism as India's Permanent Representative to the UN in 2000. Seven years on, the treaty is still not through. It is stuck on a single issue - the definition of freedom fighters - for what are thought to be political reasons.

Rather than risk taking a potentially divisive and uncharted path without necessarily adding value to the war against terrorism, the Commonwealth led by Sharma is expected to emphasise the diversity of its members.

In this he takes the cue from none other than the Commonwealth's brightest star, Nelson Mandela of South Africa, who has famously described the Commonwealth as a body that makes the world "safe for diversity."

-Thanks much,
Sreekar

[Sreekar]

Musharraf ends Pak Emergency, assures free and fair elections
(source:Latest News, India News, Latest India News, Breaking News From India – The Indian Express)


President Pervez Musharraf lifted a six-week-old state of Emergency on Saturday, saying he imposed it as a last resort to save Pakistan from destruction from a conspiracy

Musharraf said in a nationally televised address that unnamed conspirators had hatched a plot with members of the judiciary to derail the country’s transition to democracy. Parliamentary elections, scheduled for January 8, will determine who will form the next government.


“Against my will, as a last resort, I had to impose the Emergency in order to save Pakistan,” Musharraf said. “The conspiracy was hatched to destabilise the country. I cannot tell how much pain the nation and I suffered due to this conspiracy.” In the 20-minute address, he added: “Now the conspiracy has been foiled, and the election will be held on January 8... in a free and fair manner.”

Ending the Emergency and restoring the Constitution eased a crackdown that has enraged opponents and worried Western supporters. But the order contained a controversial clause that entrenched decisions Musharraf made under the Emergency, including strict curbs on press freedom and the replacement of independent-minded judges with jurists friendlier to Musharraf. Such decisions “shall not be called into question by or before any court,” the clause said.
Musharraf warned political parties not to stir up trouble as the country faces another grave period. “I regret some parties are boycotting the election while there is no justification,” Musharraf said. “The electioneering has not started yet, but some parties are talking of rigging. They should refrain from such accusations. People should take part in the electioneering, cast their vote but should not indulge in any negative activity.”

Pakistan People’s Party leader Benazir Bhutto, who has not ruled out cooperating with Musharraf, called the end of the Emergency a good first step but said her party still worries the elections may be rigged. “I ask all the political parties not be naive and try to foil the rigging plan through all possible means,” she said during a campaign stop in Quetta. Liaquat Baloch, a senior leader of Jamaat-e-Islami — Pakistan’s largest Islamic party — called Musharraf’s move a “fraud.”

-Thanks much,
Sreekar