By M.R. Narayan Swamy, IANS
Kampala : The Commonwealth suspended Pakistan for stifling democracy, after overcoming differences within, triggering a furious reaction from Pakistan and a cautious response from India Friday.
The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) announced hours before the Commonwealth summit opened here Friday morning that it was dropping Pakistan from the Councils of the Commonwealth “pending the restoration of democracy and the rule of law in that country”.
It is the second time Pakistan has faced suspension from the 53-nation grouping of mainly former British colonies. It was suspended in 1999 when General Pervez Musharraf seized power. Pakistan was readmitted in 2004.
The decision late Thursday night followed a CMAG statement of Nov 12 threatening to move against Pakistan unless the military regime took by Nov 22 decisive steps towards democracy by restoring the constitution and lifting a state of emergency imposed Nov 3.
Noting that Pakistan had failed the test, Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon said Islamabad had “seriously violated the Commonwealth’s fundamental values”, under which the same person cannot head the state and also be the army chief.
A furious Pakistan, which is not attending this summit, “firmly” rejected the CMAG announcement that it said “are based on lack of realism and absence of understanding” of the situation in the country. It said it would not tolerate outside interference in its affairs.
Islamabad said it clamped emergency in “extraordinary circumstances” to stop the country falling into chaos and to counter “militancy and terrorism that posed a great threat not just to Pakistan but to the world”.
India, Pakistan’s biggest neighbour, reacted cautiously to the suspension. An Indian official spokesman said here: “We have noted the decision of the CMAG. Our hope remains that Pakistan will return to stability and democracy as soon as possible.”
Representatives of Malta, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Papua New Guinea, Britain, Canada, Malaysia and St. Lucia attended the CMAG meeting.
Not everyone was for suspending Pakistan, saying it was no use pushing the country to the wall. But others argued that there could not be double standards — one for countries like Fiji and Nigeria and another for Pakistan.
British Foreign Minister David Mliband tried to soften the blow by stating that the decision to suspend Pakistan was “taken in sorrow, not in anger”. Added McKinnon: “It was not an easy decision.”
The Commonwealth decision is more of a psychological blow to Musharraf, who is under intense pressure from the West to lift emergency that has led to the arrest of hundreds of opposition and rights activists as well as lawyers besides curbs on media. Musharraf has, however, called for elections Jan 8.
But the Commonwealth decision is unlikely to have any impact on US President George W. Bush, who continues to count Pakistan and Musharraf as strong allies in the “war on terror”. The US administration believes that Musharraf is the best person — at least for now — for Pakistan, which the Americans use to battle the Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
A statement read out around midnight Thursday by the Commonwealth said the situation in Pakistan “continued to represent a serious violation of the Commonwealth’s fundamental political values.
“CMAG regretted that the government of Pakistan had failed to implement the necessary measures set out in the CMAG statement of Nov 12.
“Accordingly, CMAG suspended Pakistan … pending the restoration of democracy and the rule of law in that country.”
The Commonwealth wants Pakistan to repeal emergency and release all those detained under emergency provisions, end all curbs on private media broadcasts and hold free and fair elections. It also wants Musharraf to step down as the army chief.