This comes as foreign ministers from the Commonwealth of Britain and its former colonies are threatening to suspend Pakistan from the organization unless General Musharraf lifts the state of emergency. Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon said a decision would be made on November 23.

Don McKinnon: “So the message is, you’ve got about 10 days. We believe you can achieve this. It will mean you stay within the full ambit of the Commonwealth. But on the other hand, if you ignore and continue to violate those Commonwealth principles, you know the consequences.”

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is also calling for General Musharraf to lift martial law.

Ban Ki-moon: “I would hope that the Pakistani government will do more, including the lifting of emergency measures, as well as releasing detained political leaders and particularly the special rapporteur of the United Nations. I again urge Pakistani leadership to meet the expectations of international community in further realizing the democratization process of Pakistan.”