R. Iniyan Ilango

THE Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group's (CMAG) past record of dealing with Pakistan has been notoriously indecisive and often riddled with miscalculations. In 1999, CMAG suspended Pakistan from the Council's of the Commonwealth only to re-admit it in 2004, when General Musharraf became a favourite in the so-called "war against terror". From 2004 until only last month, the CMAG continued to naively tolerate Musharraf despite warnings from civil society groups, who in the end turned out to be correct.

General Musharraf's recent transition to civilian President appears as ceremonial as his lifting of the emergency ahead of the promised January 8 elections.

With a sabotaged judiciary, skewed rule of law, tampered constitution, extraordinary military powers, suppressed civil society, restricted media and pre-election manipulations, all steps taken by Musharraf after suspension of Pakistan by the CMAG on November 22, 2007, are mere window-dressing.

The outcome of the January 8 elections could only add to the undemocratic context.

In this context, it is necessary, at this stage, for the CMAG not carried away by such window-dressing to consider an immediate re-admission of Pakistan into the Commonwealth.

In 1959, in the height of the Cold War, Ayub Khan, the first military dictator of Pakistan, gave the world a new idea. It was called "basic democracy" and "guided democracy". This idea justified authoritarian military rule as legitimate and necessary to prepare certain countries for democracy. At that time this idea received the total support of the Western bloc, eager to counter the spread of communism in Asia.

Today, half a century later, not much seems to have changed in Pakistan. The Cold War is over, but the fight for democracy continues - the enemy is now terrorism.

Mass public support in favour of judicial independence and fair elections show that the people of Pakistan are not exactly ill-prepared for democracy. The CMAG should not, as it did during the cold war, fall prey to the neo-colonial idea of guiding people to democracy and endorse it in any way. The CMAG should instead act to uphold the struggle against injustice and authoritarianism by helping the Pakistani people to realise their democratic aspirations.

The Harare Declaration of the Commonwealth enunciates human rights and rule of law as fundamental political values. Latimer House Rules adopted by the Commonwealth Heads of Governments in Abuja in 2003, lays down the independence of the judiciary as a fundamental aspect of democratic governance. These have to be the standards that guide the CMAG's future decision on Pakistan. In accordance with these standards, the CMAG's most important task has to be to ensure that the independence of the Pakistani judiciary is restored at the earliest.

The CMAG also has to ensure that foreign policy and real politik considerations do not overpower the democratic promises of these principles.

As January 8, 2008 draws closer, Musharraf's regime in Pakistan is busying itself with the task of sugar-coating a bitter and abusive election process.

The CMAG has to analyse both the pre and the post-election scenarios in the light of the Harare Declaration and the Latimer House Rules. Any decision taken by the CMAG, should be taken according to these principles. In the meanwhile, the remaining Commonwealth mechanisms, including that of the Secretary-General's good offices as well as Commonwealth governments, have an important duty -- to help Pakistan's people in their struggle for democracy. (The writer is the Consultant, Advocacy Programme, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative)