Commonwealth foreign ministers say they are not ready to restore full membership to Pakistan, but added Islamabad is making progress toward democracy.
The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group met in London today (Friday) and decided Pakistan would be more eligible to re-join the group if it forms a democratic government and the legislatures are given full constitutional authority.
Before the meetings, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Pakistan's support for the war against terrorism would not figure into the group's decision.
Pakistan was suspended from the Commonwealth's Councils, the group's main decision-making bodies, after President Pervez Musharraf took power in a bloodless coup in 1999. It is not clear when the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group will meet again to re-assess Pakistan's situation.
The countries of the Ministerial Action Group are Australia, The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Botswana, India, Malta, Nigeria and Samoa.