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Former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto blamed the General’s surprise move on the forthcoming Agra summit with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
In a strongly-worded statement, Commonwealth secretary-general Don McKinnon said he was “disappointed at the unfortunate steps” and issued a veiled threat to Gen Musharraf in terms of the reception he could expect at October's Commonwealth summit in Brisbane.
New British foreign secretary Jack Straw echoed the mounting unease in world capitals over the developments in Pakistan. Mr Straw said he was “deeply concerned to hear that Musharraf had dissolved Pakistan’s suspended assembly and assumed presidency.” He said the news from Islamabad was bound to cause widespread anxiety as it represented a setback to the transition to elected democracy.
Expressing surprise at the suddenness of Gen Musharrafs decision, Commonwealth and the British foreign office sources stressed that last week's meetings in London with Pakistani foreign minister Abdul Sattar had offered no clue to the dramatic developments unfolding in the country.
Mr McKinnon said, “Foreign minister Sattar's discussions with me last week implied that the Musharraf regime would be moving towards the restoration of democracy. What we have seen instead are steps in the wrong direction.” Mr Straw said he had underlined the importance of early elections to Mr Sattar and would emphasise the point to the Pakistani authorities. A government source stated that the General's change of hats had left the British government unimpressed. “Musharraf would have been in a better bargaining position had he shown a clear commitment to the restoration of democracy,” he said.
Ms Bhutto, who said the move had
brought back memories of other military rulers, remarked that she was not
surprised by the move. “It has been taken in the context of the India visit
for protocol reasons.”
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