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Commonwealth Secretariat press release

Commonwealth Secretary-General disappointed by developments in Pakistan

20 June 2001

Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon today made the following statement:

I am disappointed by the announcement made in Islamabad today that General Pervez Musharraf has assumed the office of President of Pakistan and that the already suspended parliament has been dissolved.

I consider these steps to be unfortunate. Foreign Minister Sattar's discussions with me last week implied that the Musharraf regime would be moving towards the restoration of democracy. What we have seen instead are steps in the wrong direction that signal the further consolidation of military rule in Pakistan.

The Commonwealth has been urging Pakistan to restore democracy as soon as possible. Today's developments will undoubtedly influence Commonwealth leaders when they consider the situation in Pakistan at Brisbane next October.

Note to Editors:
Pakistan was suspended from the councils of the Commonwealth following the overthrow of its democratically elected Government on 12 October 1999. The situation in Pakistan has been closely monitored by the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on the Harare Declaration (CMAG). At its fifteenth meeting in London on 19-20 March 2001, CMAG expressed the view that there was no justification for delaying Parliamentary elections and called upon the regime to announce the dates for elections to provincial and national assemblies. It also warned Pakistan that if more definite progress regarding a timetable for the restoration of democracy through free and fair elections were not made by October 2001, CMAG would find it necessary to recommend to Heads of Government that stronger measures be taken by the Commonwealth against the military regime.






01/40 20 June 2001

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