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Pakistan Suspended from Commonwealth

November 23rd, 2007
By SWARAAJ CHAUHAN, International Columnist

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Pakistan was suspended from the Commonwealth last night despite last-minute assurances from President Musharraf that he would lift the state of emergency soon, reports The Times.

“The decision threatens to deprive Pakistan of hundreds of millions of pounds of foreign investment and Commonwealth development funding, as well as excluding it from the 53-member bloc’s decision-making councils until democracy is restored.

“Expressing regret for Pakistan’s failure to comply with its ultimatum the Commonwealth said that it had suspended Pakistan ‘pending the restoration of democracy and the rule of law in that country’.”

What is the Commonwealth? “The Commonwealth of Nations, usually known as the Commonwealth and sometimes as the British Commonwealth, is currently a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states, most of which are former British colonies (the exceptions being the United Kingdom itself and Mozambique).

“The Commonwealth comprises fifty-three, or almost a quarter, of the world’s countries and has a combined population of 1.9 billion people, almost a third of the world population and over twice as many as the whole of the Americas (North and South) put together. Of the 1.9 billion people, 1.4 billion live in the Indian subcontinent, and 93% live in Asia or Africa.”

More here…

Meanwhile Pakistan’s top court Friday gave military ruler Pervez Musharraf until December 1 to hang up his uniform and take a new oath of presidential office as a civilian, reports AFP. In written rulings a day after dismissing the final challenges against his re-election, the Supreme Court also urged him to lift the state of emergency “at the earliest.”

“The rulings give a clear timetable for Musharraf to fulfill his commitment to step down as head of the military, a move that may go some way to placating an international community outraged by his emergency rule.”



This entry was posted on Friday, November 23rd, 2007 at 10:13 am and is filed under Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

 
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