LONDON, May 12: Pakistan regained its full membership of the Commonwealth on Monday after a six-month suspension caused by the imposition of President Musharraf’s second martial law in the name of emergency rule in November last year.

As soon as Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma made the announcement at a press conference readmitting Pakistan, Malaysian Foreign Minister Dr Rais Yatim, who had chaired the meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on the Harare Declaration (CMAG), had to face a volley of questions with regard to the still unfulfilled business of restoration of judges whom Mr Musharraf had deposed after imposing the emergency rule.

Some of the questions even raised the issue of Mr Musharraf’s future role and expressed the apprehension that he might once again disrupt the democratic process given the fact that he was still holding the constitutionally very powerful office of the presidency.

Answering the questions, Mr Yatim said the CMAG had taken cognizance of all the issues raised but it was the opinion of CMAG that the basics of democratic process and the principles of rule of law had been adhered to and respected.

“Therefore the CMAG feels that whatever the internal circumstances are, parliament of Pakistan will naturally vote for or decide on the best format of the judiciary, free media, the limits or delimits of executive powers and the functions of the president,” he said.

Earlier, reading out from the CMAG’s statement the secretary general said the group agreed that since November “the government of Pakistan has taken positive steps to fulfil its obligations in accordance with Commonwealth’s fundamental values and principles.”

The Commonwealth ministers welcomed the fact that Mr Musharraf had given up his military role, lifted the state of emergency, held elections and removed curbs on the media.

The statement urged Pakistan to “reinforce the independence of the judiciary and resolve current issues through the parliamentary process as soon as possible so that it contributes to democratic political stability in Pakistan.”

When the outgoing High Commissioner Maleeha Lodhi was asked for her comments on the development she said: “It is an excellent note on which to conclude my current assignment.”

Our Staff Reporter adds from Islamabad: The foreign ministry welcomed Pakistans readmission into Commonwealth saying it looked forward to working closely with the 53-member grouping for the achievement of its objectives.

“Pakistan welcomes the decision of Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group ending Pakistans suspension from the Councils of the Commonwealth,” said a statement issued by the Foreign Office.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said the restoration of Pakistans membership showed marked improvement in the country’s image after restoration of democracy.