Commonwealth lifts suspension on Pakistan

LONDON (AP) _ The Commonwealth of Britain and its former colonies lifted a four-year suspension of Pakistan on Saturday, welcoming the country's progress on democratic reform since a military coup

Saturday, May 22nd 2004, 11:26 am

By: News On 6

LONDON (AP) _ The Commonwealth of Britain and its former colonies lifted a four-year suspension of Pakistan on Saturday, welcoming the country's progress on democratic reform since a military coup more than four years ago.

But the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group insisted President Gen. Pervez Musharraf must stand by his pledge to step down as army chief by the end of the year and said it would continue to monitor Pakistan's democratic progress.

The 53-nation grouping, which represents nearly one-third of the world's 6 billion people, suspended Pakistan from its decision-making councils in 1999 after Gen. Pervez Musharraf toppled the country's elected prime minister.

Musharraf, now the country's president, has moved from semi-pariah to prized ally in the U.S.-led war on terror after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and Britain and Australia had lobbied for the suspension to be lifted.

``This is good news for the nation, and we welcome it,'' Pakistan's Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said in Islamabad. ``We are happy that they have taken the right decision.''

Under international pressure, Musharraf held general elections in October 2002 and he has transferred the day-to-day running of the government to a prime minister.

Commonwealth secretary general Don McKinnon said he welcomed the steps taken by Pakistan to restore democracy but cautioned that Musharraf must abide by a pledge to separate the offices of president and chief of army.

Musharraf promised to quit his army post by the end of the year in return for extraordinary powers in an amendment to Pakistan's constitution.

``It was the group's expectation that there would be no deviation from the agreement reached between the government and the opposition parties in December 2003,'' McKinnon said.

Musharraf cast doubts on his promise to retire as head of the army in a British Broadcasting Corp. interview last month. Asked whether he would heed calls from supporters to stay on in uniform, Musharraf said: ``We have to wait and see.''

McKinnon told The Associated Press that some Commonwealth members meeting in London Friday and Saturday wanted to wait to see if he followed through with the promise but reached a consensus that it was better to reward Pakistan's progress.

Fresh doubts over political reforms also have been cast by a 23-year prison sentence handed down to an opposition leader in April, and the deportation of Shahbaz Sharif _ a younger brother of the toppled premier Nawaz.

Foreign ministers from Canada, Nigeria, Malta, Lesotho, Samoa and Tanzania took part in the talks. India, Sri Lanka, Canada and the Bahamas were represented by their high commissioners.