Islamabad, Dec 06: Regretting the Commonwealth decision to keep Pakistan suspended from the grouping, President Pervez Musharraf today said it was "unfortunate" that the country was not re-admitted to the bloc. "It is both regrettable and unfortunate" that Pakistan, a founding member of the Commowealth, was being kept out of the organisation at the behest of few other countries, Musharraf said in Lahore.
However, he said Pakistan was not unduly worried about the Commonwealth decision.
Musharraf said Pakistan was not a small country to be ignored in the comity of nations. "The Commonwealth will gain respect and stature when we re-enter the organisation."
The grouping suspended Pakistan after Musharraf ousted then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup in 1999.
Asked about the performance of Pakistani government and the working of Parliament, he said the Parliament would last full five years despite the present political stalemate over his constitutional amendments.
He also said that he would personally take initiatives to end the deadlock by holding talks with Islamist alliance Muttahida Majlis-e Amal (MMA) which is demanding his resignation as chief of army.
Bureau Report