Suspension from Commonwealth unjustified, says Pakistan

Nov 23, 2007, 8:06 GMT

Islamabad - Pakistan on Friday rejected its suspension from the Commonwealth over the current state of emergency as 'unreasonable and unjustified.'

'The decision does not take into account the objective conditions prevailing in Pakistan,' the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad said in a statement.

'The emergency was a necessary measure to avert a serious internal crisis which is being addressed and the situation is now returning towards normalcy,' it added.

Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon told reporters late Thursday that the 53-nation grouping of Britain and its former colonies 'has suspended Pakistan forthwith from the council pending the return of the rule of law and democracy.'

Speaking in the Ugandan capital of Kampala after a special meeting of nine foreign ministers on Pakistan, McKinnon said the situation in Pakistan was in 'serious violation' of the group's fundamental values.

Pakistan's military ruler President Pervez Musharraf imposed the state of emergency on November 3, citing rising Islamaic militancy and an unruly judiciary. But his critics say the move was to prevent defiant judges of the Supreme Court from annulling his disputed October 6 re-election.

A newly appointed court this week dismissed legal challenges to the result, clearing the way for the US-backed leader to be sworn in for a further five-year term.

Criticizing the emergency measures, the Commonwealth chief demanded the restoration of Pakistan's constitution, independent judiciary and rule of law and the release of political prisoners before the country's membership is revived.

Pakistan was only restored to full membership of the organization in 2004 following its suspension in 1999 over Musharraf's coup.

Islamabad would now review its association and further cooperation with the organization, the ministry said.

After the declared release this week of thousands of detainees to help ease the situation, it also noted that the Pakistani government was taking steps to ensure a fair and free election on January 8, and that a neutral caretaker government was already in place for the purpose.

Earlier this month, a Commonwealth meeting in London gave Pakistan ten days to lift the emergency or face suspension.

Before the implementation of the threat, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a last-ditch appeal to Musharraf by phone Thursday to lift the state of emergency.

Speaking in London before his departure for Kampala, Brown said: 'We have co-operated closely with Pakistan on economic and political reform, counter-radicalization and vital regional issues.

But President Musharraf is in no doubt of the strength of feeling in the international community about the curtailment of democratic freedoms,' Brown continued.