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| India-Pakistan |
| Government disallows C'wealth poll observers |
| 2007-12-27 |
| Pakistan rejected the Commonwealth’s request to issue visas to its observers for the January 8 elections, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Wednesday. FO spokesman Muhammad Sadiq said Pakistan would review its relation with the 53-nation organisation after the elections. “The Commonwealth has said that it will review Pakistan’s suspension from the organisation after the polls. That is the time when we will actively consider our relationship with the Commonwealth,” he told reporters during a weekly press briefing. He said Pakistan had approved 200 visas for election observers, including 60 from the International Republican Institute (IRI), 12 from the European Union (EU) and 55 from other countries. “The IRI’s observers belong to various countries like the USA, Iraq, Cambodia, Liberia, Azerbaijan, Morocco and South Africa. Some of the observers have reached the country,” he said. He said the observers included parliamentarians, journalists, and civil society members. “A non-government organisation Researchers is brining in civil society members from various countries including Switzerland and Germany,” he said. |
| Posted by:Fred |