Britain's official response to the military coup was slow to come, but unequivocal. Foreign Secretary Robin Cook told the press that his country's objective was ``restoration of democracy and the rule of law''. He also announced his government's support for what is the first punitive action against Pakistan, following the coup. He said this afternoon that the EU in Brussels would move towards suspending the signature of the EU Trade Agreement with Pakistan and also suspend the EU's political dialogue with the country.

The EU, which is invariably guided by Britain in its response to South Asia, was swift in its condemnation of the coup. Finland, the current EU president, said: ``The EU can in no circumstances approve extra-constitutional and non-democratic means in any country and therefore urges thePakistani military to respect democracy and the parliamentary process.''

Indicating how the Commonwealth would respond, Secretary General Emeka Anyaoku said last night when the situation was still fluid that ``an unconstitutional overthrow of a democratically elected government would be in contravention of the Commonwealth's fundamental political values and would therefore be totally unacceptable to the Commonwealth. Such a development would inevitably invite Pakistan's suspension from the councils of the Commonwealth''.

Robin Cook said today that ``all members of the Commonwealth are committed to the Harare Declaration which requires members to observe basic standards of democracy and human rights''. He said Britain was an important member of the Commonwealth's Ministerial Action Group and would be ``playing a full part in those discussions''. The Ministerial Action Group will meet on October 18. As chief Anyaoku indicated, Pakistan can, at the very least, expect its suspension from the group of 52countries.

The British foreign secretary was asked by journalists what he felt about the coup in Pakistan, given India and Pakistan's nuclear status and the fact that the Indian armed forces are on red alert. In his reply, he stressed the importance of ``strengthening the global non-proliferation regime'' and added that the ``the advent of military rule in this context underlines the importance of making sure that we halt nuclear proliferation, wherever it might be.''

Cook said the great achievement of the Nawaz Sharif government ``was to launch the Lahore process of dialogue with India''. In this context, he said, ``It is vital that we get as soon as possible a government in Pakistan which is democratic, which is civilian and which is committed to that process of dialogue; the tensions between the two countries can only be resolved by mutual understanding and dialogue.''

Asked what his expectations from Gen Pervez Musharraf's promised policy statement were, Cook said: ``What we want for Pakistan is animmediate return to democracy and as a step towards that the immediate restoration of freedom of the press and withdrawal of the military from the broadcasting stations.'' He added: ``We would also hope that he would demonstrate that he is going to respect the safety and the legal rights of the cabinet ministers.''