"We have been kicked out of the Commonwealth."
"In spite of Musharraf's assurance to Gordon Brown that he would lift emergency soon."
"In spite of that assurance..."
"So is this in the national interest?"
"What? That we have been kicked out of the Commonwealth or that our leader would assure a foreign head of government about the lifting of emergency instead of the people of this country?"
"Well, the Commonwealth is more like a club where a few may benefit, for example those Pakistanis living in other Commonwealth countries, but by and large there are really not that many benefits that accrue from such a membership. I mean it maybe embarrassing for the government to be kicked out but I don't think the effects of such an action are going to be far reaching."
"So national interest has not been compromised?"
"National interest has been compromised with the declaration of emergency itself. A couple of hundred million dollars worth of foreign equity has been withdrawn from the country so there has been a negative economic impact of that. And don't forget that economic activity is at a standstill, while the justice system has come to an almost complete halt because of the lawyers - a situation whereby no foreign investor is going to come into the country irrespective of what our economic managers may say..."
"But you can't talk about the rights and wrongs of emergency right. I mean that is disallowed according to a recently passed presidential ordinance..."
"That would require only one act of parliament to get rid of."
"That's true. And the fact that Musharraf informed Brown and not the people as to the timing of the lifting of the emergency. Was that in the national interest?"
"Don't be facetious."
"I mean shouldn't we be informed about that first and foremost."
"Now that Musharraf has got the judgement that he wanted from the Supreme Court I would imagine that he would take off his uniform..."
"I still believe that that decision would be the beginning of the end for him."
"Indeed."