Pakistan pressed on civilian rule

The military takeover led to worldwide condemnation

Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon has repeated a call for a rapid return to democracy in Pakistan.

Speaking at a news conference in Islamabad after two days of talks, Mr McKinnon said the attitude of the Commonwealth remained the same.

"We still do not see any acceptability to the military regime," he said.

He said the country's military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, had not given him a time-frame for elections.

It was unlikely therefore that there would be an early end to Pakistan's suspension from the Commonwealth following last year's coup.

However, Mr McKinnon said everyone he had met spoke of the need to abide by a Supreme Court ruling setting a three-year deadline for reinstating civilian rule.

Assistance

In a BBC interview, Mr McKinnon said it was still important to try to help Pakistan to restore democracy and the Commonwealth was looking at ways of providing assistance for local elections.

General Musharraf: Will abide by Supreme Court ruling

He added that although people's expectations of the military regime had diminished, they still had faith that it would achieve success in the fight against corruption.

The BBC Islamabad correspondent, Susannah Price, says there has been no indication that the government has been considering the call to shorten the timeframe for a return to democracy.

During his two-day visit Mr McKinnon was expected to meet members of political parties, non-governmental organisations and civilian representatives.

However, one report said he had been unable to meet jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif - despite asking to do so.

Mr McKinnon has said he will report back on his visit to Pakistan to a Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group meeting next month to which Pakistani Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar has also been invited.