David Masango
6 November 2007
South Africa is concerned about the situation in Pakistan, where a state of emergency has been declared and the constitution suspended, and is urging all parties to return to the rule of law, says Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad.
Speaking to journalists in Pretoria on Sunday, Pahad called for an end to martial law in Pakistan, and for all parties to continue with preparations for elections to be held in 2008, as announced previously.
Pahad said the South African government believed that was the only way with which to deal with extremism, and that martial law would make the holding of elections impossible.
"It will also create the conditions for increased instability. We are also very concerned because this will increase tensions in the region," he said. "Pakistan is indeed a nuclear power and in this state of volatility one must call on the authorities to ensure that this arsenal is very well attended so that it does not fall into the wrong hands."
It has been reported that government troops rounded up and arrested hundreds of lawyers who were protesting the imposition of martial law in Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi.
According to local media reports, the arrests came as Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf suspended the constitution, citing what he said where threats posed to the nation by Islamic extremism and judicial interference.
World leaders, including the United States and Britain, have expressed serious concerns at l Musharraf's decision to declare a state of emergency last week and called for a swift return to a democratic government.
Regarding the situation in Myanmar, Pahad told reporters that government was concerned that the expulsion of the United Nations (UN) special representative Charles Petrie who had been in Myanmar for the last decade, coincided with the arrival of the UN special advisor Ibrahim Gambari there.
He said the South African government would continue to support the efforts by Gambari to ensure that the UN remained committed to bring about the necessary changes in Myanmar.
"Mr Gambari has concluded a tour of the region [China, Thailand, Malaysia] and when he returns from Myanmar, it will be important to get a sense of the positions of these countries on the situation in Myanmar and what can be done," he said.
Source: BuaNews
