|
Commonwealth supports Musharraf war on terrorism Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL263384.htmhttp://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL263384.htm
Commonwealth head brushes aside Musharraf concerns
22 Oct 2004 10:55:57 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Recasts with comments from Commonwealth head)
By Zeeshan Haider
ISLAMABAD, Oct 22 (Reuters) - The head of the Commonwealth on Friday brushed aside concern over indications Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf plans to go back on his word and stay on as head of the army after 2004.
Don McKinnon, Secretary General of the group of mostly former British colonies, said Musharraf had taken the issue to parliament and it was up to the legislature to make a decision.
"The important thing is that the issue is taken to the parliament and the parliament debated that issue," he told reporters after meeting with Musharraf.
The National Assembly, parliament's lower house, last week passed a bill to allow Musharraf to stay on as army chief beyond 2004 despite a pledge to give up the job by the end of the year.
Last December, he announced his decision to give up his uniform, saying it was in the interests of democracy in a country that has been ruled by the military for more than half its 57-year history.
But he has since dropped strong hints that he will not abide by the commitment, saying shedding his uniform would undermine his authority in the war on terror and in pushing forward a nascent peace process with rival India.
The Commonwealth suspended Pakistan's membership after Musharraf's bloodless coup in 1999, but readmitted the country in May, citing its progress on democratic reforms.
At the time of its readmission, the Commonwealth said it would monitor further reforms and expected Musharraf to meet his pledge to stand down as army chief by the end of year.
McKinnon said he raised the uniform issue with Musharraf during the meeting and told him that the Commonwealth wanted "some clarity".
However, he said, the group also underlined the need for maintaining "supremacy of the parliament and the constitution".
McKinnon's visit to Pakistan comes amid rising tension between the pro-military government and opposition parties over Musharraf's dual military and political role.
OPPOSITION DECLINES TO VOTE
The National Assembly on Friday discarded a no-confidence motion against its speaker, who the opposition accused of violating procedures during the passage of the bill allowing Musharraf to keep his uniform.
The motion was discarded after the opposition declined to vote when the deputy speaker did not let all 107 of those present speak.
The opposition deputies gathered in front of the speaker's rostrum shouting slogans of "Go Musharraf Go!" and "Go Speaker Go!" when the deputy speaker, who was chairing the session, asked them to vote.
The opposition had needed 172 votes to dislodge the speaker in the 342-seat house dominated by pro-military groups, but has fewer than 150 seats.
In a deal with opposition Islamic groups last year, Musharraf promised to stand down as army chief by Dec. 31 in return for their support for controversial constitutional changes that give him sweeping powers to sack the government and dismiss parliament.
The United States has said it considers Musharraf's past statement of intent to give up his army post a "good thing".
Musharraf was treated as a pariah by the West after his coup, but criticism of his rule became muted after he took on a front-line role in the U.S.-led war on terror, launched after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States in 2001.
|
|
