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.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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