ISLAMABAD, 24 November 2007 — Pakistan’s Supreme Court issued a formal order yesterday allowing authorities to declare Gen. Pervez Musharraf president for a second time but giving authorities until Dec. 1 to do so. The court also ruled that Musharraf was justified in imposing emergency rule.
Pakistan also hit back yesterday at its suspension by the Commonwealth as “unreasonable and unjustified” after the Commonwealth said it was suspending Pakistan for a second time because of a “serious violation” of the group’s core values.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in Kampala, where the heads of Commonwealth are meeting, that the suspension was “a clear and necessary” step but promised Pakistan would be allowed to return as soon as it restored full democracy and the rule of law.
In Islamabad, a day after dismissing the last challenges to Musharraf’s re-election last month, the Supreme Court sent a written version of its ruling to the Election Commission and the government. But the notice said only that the result should be announced by Dec. 1, giving him a further week to comply.
Reacting to the suspension, the Foreign Ministry said it would review its relations with the Commonwealth and vowed it would not bend to “unrealistic” outside pressures. Progress “will be determined by ground realities and legal requirements in Pakistan rather than unrealistic demands from outside,” it warned.
Separately, the Supreme Court swept aside challenges to Musharraf’s emergency rule, agreeing he had taken the step for the “welfare of the state and the people.”
Meanwhile, former Pakistani Premier Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted in 1999 by Musharraf, met with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah in Riyadh yesterday.
Sharif’s brother, Shahbaz, had earlier told ARYOne World television that the former premier will return to Lahore tomorrow.
— Additional input from agencies
