ISLAMABAD, Nov 2: Commonwealth ministers who refused to lift Pakistan’s suspension from the body appeared not to completely understand the country’s political situation, the foreign ministry said Saturday.

The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) “appears to have dwelt on non-issues and has not made the correct assessment of the situation,” a foreign ministry spokesman said in a brief statement.

The CMAG said Friday it would be premature to conclude democracy had been restored in Pakistan, despite elections held last month.

The foreign ministry spokesman said CMAG’s London statement, confirming the status quo of Pakistan’s membership, displayed “an incomplete understanding of the political processes and the steady transition to democracy in Pakistan”.

CMAG did not take into account the roadmap for the country’s shift to democracy, which Musharraf issued in August last year, it added.

Don McKinnon, the Commonwealth’s Secretary General, called for the “early formation of a democratic government with full executive powers.”

He told journalists the Commonwealth wanted the “establishment of elected legislatures with full constitutional and legislative authority.”—AFP