Twenty days after President Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan, the world’s community are beginning to react in a more robust manner towards the military dictator. Yesterday Pakistan’s membership of the Commonwealth was suspended. Pakistan has reacted angrily to the decision calling it “unjustified and unreasonable”. But the Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon said Pakistan was being suspended "pending restoration of democracy and the rule of law" [BBC].
The last three weeks have been turbulent in the country with the arrest of protesters and isolated violent attacks. Benazir Bhutto and Imran Khan have both been placed under house arrest during the continued state of emergency which most are calling martial law. There still remains uncertainty as to when Musharraf will call elections. And many are saying that fighting such an election during a state of emergency would be extremely difficult [CNN]
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