Pakistan has been suspended from the Commonwealth because of its imposition of emergency rule, the organization has announced
after a meeting in Uganda.Secretary General of Commonwealth Don McKinon said Pakistan was being suspended "pending restoration of
democracy and the rule of law".Earlier Pakistan''s Supreme Court dismissed a legal challenge to Pervez Musharraf''s re-election as president.The president has said that would allow him to step down as head of the army.The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), a committee of nine foreign
ministers empowered by the Commonwealth to make such decisions, agreed to turf Pakistan during a meeting in Uganda.The decision came following Prime Minister Stephen Harper''s call earlier in the day for Pakistan''s removal."It was not an easy thing to do," said Helena Guergis, Canada''s secretary of state for foreign affairs and international trade, who is representing Canada at the meeting of the voting group. "But in the end we all believe we''ve all made the right decision -- in support of democracy, in support of the people of Pakistan."Pakistan pleaded for more time, saying it was making progress toward restoring democracy. It argued it had freed some political prisoners, and that Musharraf has promised to hold elections on Jan. 8.The CMAG welcomed those moves but said the country still missed its deadline to restore democracy.Harper and Guergis arrived in Kampala on Thursday, the same day a group of eight foreign ministers were meeting to decide how to deal with Pakistan.