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NEW YORK, Sept 28: Foreign ministers from Commonwealth countries saw little chance for Zimbabwe to rejoin decision-making bodies of the alliance soon but left some hope for Pakistan’s re-admission, a statement said on Sunday.
Both countries have been suspended from key councils for their record on democracy and human rights by the 54-nation Commonwealth, which in the main includes Britain and its former colonies.
At a Saturday meeting, eight ministers from the Commonwealth’s action group noted that the Pakistan parliament remained deadlocked over a legal framework, a key obstacle for a full return to democracy.
But the ministers said that if negotiations between the government and political parties, especially on constitutional issues, were concluded successfully, “Pakistan’s suspension from the councils of the Commonwealth should be lifted.”
The eight foreign ministers were from Botswana, Malta, India, Bangladesh, Bahamas, Samoa, Nigeria and Australia. All had been attending the UN General Assembly session.
The action group made no recommendations except to say the Zimbabwe controversy would be considered by Commonwealth heads of government at a December summit in Abuja, Nigeria.
The group’s statement also said any decisions on Zimbabwe would be made by the Commonwealth’s “Troika” composed of Australia, South Africa and Nigeria.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, who has taken a tough position on Zimbabwe, prepared a document showing how the government had abused its power and stifled reforms.
“Unless the Mugabe Government embraces reform quickly and enthusiastically, the people of Zimbabwe will continue to suffer economic hardship, political oppression and humanitarian crises,” Mr Downer said.
Zimbabwe is struggling with a severe economic crisis, blamed by critics on government mismanagement. Mr Mugabe counters that the southern African nation is a victim of economic sabotage by Western powers opposed to his seizures of white-owned farms for black resettlement.—Reuters
DECISION REGRETTED: Pakistan on Sunday hit out at the Commonwealth for its decision not to restore Pakistan’s membership of this multilateral body, saying it had overstepped its mandate to pronounce on the Legal Framework Order (LFO), adds Qudssia Akhlaque from Islamabad.
“We regret this decision as democracy has been restored in Pakistan and democratic institutions are functional,” Foreign Office Spokesman Masood Khan said when his comments were sought by Dawn on Sunday night.
“Pakistan’s exclusion from this forum is also the Commonwealth’s loss,” he maintained.
“The Commonwealth does not have the mandate to pronounce on the LFO,” the spokesman said, adding: “It should not try to micro-manage democracies.”
Mr Khan minced no words in blaming India for playing a negative role in blocking restoration of Pakistan’s membership.
Officials here claimed although majority of the Commonwealth members supported restoration of Pakistan’s membership, the decision was blocked because of the principle of consensus observed in such matters.
In June India had blocked Pakistan’s entry to the Asean Regional Forum also using the device of consensus.
Observers say chances of restoration of Pakistan’s membership to the Commonwealth could get better if Pakistan-India relations improved. They believe India is using it as a bargaining chip.
“This has more to do with politics than democracy,” is how one analyst put it, pointing to certain member countries of the Commonwealth where democracy was merely a label.
When Dawn asked a senior official what Pakistan was losing out on in concrete terms by being kept out of the Commonwealth, he said: “Zero, it is just a question of gaining more respectability.”
