M A I N   N E W S

Pak to remain suspended from Commonwealth 

London, May 20
Pakistan will remain suspended from the Commonwealth as its Parliament has remained deadlocked over the status of the Legal Framework Orders (LFO) issued by President Pervez Musharraf as the military chief, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group decided today.

While agreeing to review Pakistan’s suspension at its next meeting in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the group hoped that dialogue between the government and the opposition parties on outstanding issues, including the LFO, would be concluded successfully in the spirit of parliamentary practice and process, Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon told newsmen after the group meeting.

External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha, who was also present at the briefing, said, “I agree with the decision and I have nothing more to add to it”. He was replying to a question on India’s reaction to the decision to keep Pakistan suspended from the councils of the Commonwealth.

The concluding statement read out by Mr McKinnon said the group received a report from the Secretary-General on recent developments in Pakistan, in particular the role and functioning of democratic institutions since the October, 2002, elections. PTI