Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto said on Saturday the suspension of Pakistan’s membership by the Commonwealth had demonstrated once again that President General Pervez Musharraf’s regime policies had led to increasing isolation of Pakistan in the international community and had harmed the vital interests of the country and its people.

The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) meeting in Kampala on Thursday suspended Pakistan from the 53-nation bloc pending the return of the rule of law following the imposition of emergency rule earlier this month.

“The suspension of Pakistan from the Commonwealth shows that the concerns of the democratic forces in the country are shared by the international community as well,” Bhutto said in a statement issued by the PPP media centre.

The former prime minister called upon the regime to immediately reverse its policies aimed at strengthening dictatorship so as to end Pakistan’s isolation.

She said it was shocking that small coteries had resorted to policies to perpetuate themselves in power even at the risk of endangering the welfare and well being of 160 million people of the country by making Pakistan a pariah state in the comity of nations.

She said those who claimed ‘Pakistan First’ had been exposed as their policies were driven by ‘Self First’ and not ‘Pakistan First’.

(Courtesy : Daily Times)