LONDON, Sept 18: Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon will pay a three-day visit to Islamabad at the invitation of the Pakistan government from Wednesday, Commonwealth Secretariat has announced.
During his visit he is expected to meet, among others, President Gen Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri.
The Commonwealth secretary-general will seek an assessment of political developments in Pakistan, and enquire about plans for elections to the national and provincial assemblies, due to be held in the next few months.
Mr McKinnon will also meet high commissioners of Commonwealth member countries who are posted in Pakistan.According to the announcement, he will also brief his hosts on preparations for and key issues likely to be discussed at the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Uganda from November 23 to 25 this year.
This includes the theme of the meeting — ‘Transforming Commonwealth societies to achieve political, economic, and human development’, and the ‘Report of the Commission on Respect and Understanding’, which focuses on how better to understand the causes of conflict, the breakdown of understanding within and between communities, and its implications for policymakers.
This would be especially useful in view of the forthcoming meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group in New York on September 29, which will review political developments in Fiji Islands as well as Pakistan.—APP
