Commonwealth ministers will meet in London on November 12 to decide on Pakistan's position in the grouping following President Pervez Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule, Malaysia said on Tuesday.
The Commonwealth re-admitted Pakistan in 2004 after the 53-nation grouping suspended the country following Musharraf's coup in 1999. Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the emergency rule imposed at the weekend was a major setback to Pakistan's reconciliation process and described the political and security situation there as "chaotic and very worrying."
The meeting of the six-nation Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, which includes Malaysia, will precede the Commonwealth summit in Uganda later this month.
"The situation needs to be discussed in terms of the position of Pakistan, how is their participation, how are we going to treat Pakistan, what action that we should take or what viewpoint we should hold," he told Reuters. He declined to elaborate.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon said at the weekend, he was concerned about the latest developments in Pakistan.
"The suspension of the country's constitution days before the Supreme Court was due to pass judgement on General Musharraf's re-election as president is a matter of deep concern to the Commonwealth. It is a step in the wrong direction and a serious setback to democracy," he said.