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Commonwealth ministers rap President Musharraf
From Neville de Silva in London
Commonwealth ministers rapped Pakistan's President hard on the knuckles for reneging on an earlier promise to give up his army post by December 31. In strong language that diplomatic observers noted had not been used for some years, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) meeting in London on Friday expressed its "serious concern and regret that President Musharraf had not met his commitment to relinquish his role as Chief of Army Staff by 31 December 2004."

The charge against President Musharraf is believed to have been led by Nigeria which had even earlier felt that the Commonwealth was adopting double standards, chastising African nations while letting others like Pakistan off the hook.

Sri Lanka and India who are also members of CMAG are believed to have played the "good neighbour" role by desisting from any overt criticism of Pakistan. While India and Pakistan are engaged in an exercise in rapprochement, Sri Lanka has had good relations with Pakistan over the years.

Both countries were not represented by their foreign ministers. Foreign Secretary H.G.S. Paliakkara and Indian High Commissioner to London Kamalesh Sharma represented their respective countries. It is understood that Pakistan High Commissioner here Dr. Maleeha Lodhi had met her Sri Lanka counterpart Faisz Musthapha who has now opted out of his post, to garner support for Pakistan at the CMAG meeting.

Pakistan, which was suspended from the councils of the Commonwealth when General Musharraf seized power in a bloodless take over in October 1999, was readmitted to the 53-nation organisation following a decision by CMAG last May.

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