LONDON, May 14: A meeting of Commonwealth countries next week will consider readmitting Pakistan to the 53-nation group. A lifting of the suspension, imposed in 1999 after President Pervez Musharraf seized power , would be a symbol of Pakistan's reintegration into the international community.

The Commonwealth cites Pakistan's lack of democratic and judicial reforms for the continuing exclusion but has acknowledged recent moves towards democracy including Musharraf's pledge to step down as Chief of Army staff by the end of this year.

Last month, Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon said Pakistan, now a key US ally in its "war against terror", had resolved several central issues obstructing readmission and that "productive changes" had taken place.

Reinstatement is, however, a thorny issue for the Commonwealth which is keen to avoid the perception that it has bowed to pressure from Iraq-war allies Britain and Australia.

One Pakistani source said the country was optimistic. "We are hopeful it may go our way especially as the European Union last month concluded an agreement based on similar preconditions," said the source.

The EU last month ratified a long-delayed commercial and economic pact after its parliament said it was finally satisfied with Islamabad's moves towards democracy.

The people of Pakistan may gain little in tangible terms from readmission, say experts. But it would be symbolic, as the Commonwealth has taken a tougher line than the US and EU.

"The Commonwealth has not been swayed by previous moves to democracy so it could legitimize Musharraf's democratic credentials domestically," said Gareth Price, South Asia expert at London's Royal Institute of International Affairs.

Internal politics may, however, dash hopes of a consensus at the nine-member Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) meeting on May 21 and 22. Members are the Bahamas, Canada, India, Lesotho, Malta, Nigeria, Samoa, Sri Lanka and Tanzania.

Recent elections in India have cast doubt over suggestions that Pakistan's long-standing adversary would go along with a deal and some African countries are still angry about the group's decision to continue Zimbabwe's suspension last year.

"There is disquiet among some members that Australia and the UK want Pakistan in for strategic reasons but they were most against Zimbabwe returning," said one CMAG source.

One option might be to tell Pakistan it could rejoin the Commonwealth if it fulfilled certain conditions.-Reuters