NEW DELHI, Feb 13: Commonwealth chief Don Mckinnon said on Monday that Pervez Musharraf must give up either the presidency or control over Pakistan’s armed forces by 2007, when his current presidential term ends.

Mr McKinnon, Secretary General of the 53-nation club of mainly former British colonies, said the body was monitoring the situation in Pakistan while being engaged with Islamabad in a “low-key but firm” manner.

“2007 is the outer limit... Commonwealth leaders have made it very clear that this (separation of the two posts) must happen at that time,” Mr McKinnon told the Press Trust of India in an interview.

“If it does not happen, obviously, the Commonwealth ministers would want to get together again and make recommendations as necessary,” said Mr McKinnon, who is in New Delhi for a broadcasters’ conference beginning on Wednesday.

Mr McKinnon told PTI that by the time the suspension was lifted, Pakistan had “come a long way in terms of democratic reforms”, for which the group wanted to “give credit” to Islamabad.

Mr McKinnon, however, did not say what action Commonwealth countries would take if Gen Musharraf did not give up his dual role.—AFP