ISLAMABAD, Sept 19: Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon urged President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday to hang up his military uniform before the end of his current presidential term.

Mr McKinnon, who arrived here in the morning along with a high-level delegation on a three-day visit to Pakistan, is reported to have stressed during his meeting with the president that the process of democratisation in the country would succeed only if the two offices were separated.

A member of the delegation, however, said that Mr Mckinnon did not ask Gen Musharraf to quit his army post before the presidential polls.

“We are not here to tell Musharraf what to do and what not to do. The Commonwealth’s position is well known to all,” he remarked.

He said the secretary-general reiterated Commonwealth’s position on the issue of the president’s retention of the two offices, as spelt out by the Commonwealth Heads of Government in Malta in November 2005.

While the Commonwealth welcomed the progress made by Pakistan in restoring democracy and rebuilding democratic institutions, it noted that the holding of the offices of head of state and chief of army staff by the same person was incompatible with the basic principles of democracy and the spirit of the Harare Commonwealth principles.

The Commonwealth Heads of Government in their May 2004 meeting had urged Pakistan to resolve the issue as early as possible latest by the end of the current presidential term in 2007. They had noted that the CMAG would retain Pakistan on its agenda pending the resolution of this outstanding issue.

The heads of the government had also requested the secretary-general to continue to maintain high-level contacts with Pakistan and utilise his good offices and provide appropriate technical assistance for strengthening democracy, institution building and democratic governance.

Sources said that Mr Mckinnon expressed Commonwealth’s desire to see free and fair elections in Pakistan and he expressed his readiness to provide all kinds of assistance in this connection.

The recent deportation of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to Saudi Arabia also figured in the talks.

Mr Mckinnon spent a busy day in Islamabad and also met Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri.

During his meeting with the prime minister, he appreciated President Pervez Musharraf’s decision to take the oath of his new term as a civilian head of state and hoped that this would auger well for democracy and the future of Pakistan.

Prime Minister Aziz said the presidential and general elections would be held in a free, fair and transparent manner and observers from all over the world were welcome to witness the process.

In his meeting with Mr Kasuri, Mr Mckinnon said Pakistan was an important country in the Commonwealth.

According to a press release issued by the Foreign Office, the secretary-general was briefed on the political situation in the country. He was assured that the government would hold elections in a free, fair and transparent manner. He was also informed that for the first time in Pakistan’s history, the parliament and the government would complete their tenure. The media was free and vibrant and the status of women and minorities had been considerably enhanced.

Mr McKinnon is also expected to meet Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Qazi Muhammad Farooq, National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain, Senate chairman Muhammadmian Soomro and high commissioners of Commonwealth countries in Islamabad.