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Commonwealth Secretariat press release

Commonwealth Secretary-General Comments on Pakistan Referendum

30 April 2002

Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon said today: "The Commonwealth would be concerned if the referendum in Pakistan on General Musharraf's continuation as President were used to entrench any undemocratic form of government in that country. We will continue to monitor developments closely."

Mr McKinnon added that developments in Pakistan were on the agenda of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on the Harare Declaration (CMAG), which will be meeting shortly. He reiterated that Pakistan's leadership referendum was not part of the roadmap to democracy announced by General Musharraf last year.

"The Commonwealth's position remains that we wish to see a full return to constitutional rule in Pakistan. The conduct of the provincial and National Assembly elections in October 2002 in a free and fair manner and based on a level playing field is crucial in this regard. The Commonwealth will observe those elections."
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