JD(U) welcomes suspension of Pakistan from Commonwealth

New Delhi, Nov 23 (UNI) The Janata Dal (United) today welcomed the Commonwealth of Nations' decision to suspend the memebership of Pakistan till the restoration of democratic institutions in the country and said UPA government should take note of Vice-President Hamid Ansari's ''candid expressions'' against the US role in West Asia.

''The JD(U) along with the rest of the country expresses its deep concern over the fast deteriorating situation in Pakistan. Trampling of democratic institutions is nothing new for theocratic Pakistan.

In the last 60 years of its existence the people over there have hardly had a decade of democratic polity,'' JD(U) leader Harikishore Singh said here today.

Mr Singh, who heads the foreign affairs department of JD(U), said that in 1999 when the present military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf usurped power in a bloodless coup, Pakistan was suspended from Commonwealth and he was declared persona non-grata in the entire democratic world.

''Unfortunately, the then Indian government provided international legitimacy to his autocratic regime. In this context, the JD(U) hopes that the mistake of 1999 won't be repeated,'' he said.

The JD(U) also expressed happiness over the ''candid expression of the Vice-President over the role of successive US administrations in West Asia and hoped that the UPA government and its supporting allies would take due note of it, he said.

UNI