The blunt statement is not only a vindication of New Delhi's refusal to return to a dialogue with the military regime in Islamabad, but also stands out in sharp contrast with the softer statements on Gen Musharraf publicly made by the US over the past month.

``The heads of government condemned the unconstitutional overthrow of the democratically-elected government in Pakistan on October 12, 1991. They believed that no legitimacy should be accorded to the military regime and called for the restoration of civilian democratic rule without delay,'' the strongly-worded statement said.

``The heads of government requested the CMAG (Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group) to keep the situation inPakistan under review and be prepared to recommend further measures...if progress to democracy is not made speedily,'' it added.

The impassioned statements made by leaders like Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh (who spoke of how her father and even her 10-year-old brother were murdered) and Gen Obasanjo of Nigeria (``If Commonwealth hadn't taken a stand, Gen Abacha would've killed me'') against military coups they have personally experienced, seems to have enormously influenced the minds of the Commonwealth leaders who might have otherwise taken a more lenient view of Musharraf's regime.

In the circumstances, the recommendations of the CMAG, led by Canada's foreign minister Lloyd Axworthy and including members from Malaysia and Barbados, to suspend Pakistan for only two years, seems to have been thrown out of the window.

The statement added: ``Recognising the unconstitutionality of the regime, the heads urged that...Nawaz Sharif and others detained with him be released immediately and that the rule of law inPakistan be duly observed.''

External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, who left here tonight for the ninth round of the ``strategic dialogue'' with US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott in London, told journalists that the ``creation of an international climate of pressure (against Pakistan) is the first step''. Pointing out that it would be ``unwise to write off the Commonwealth'' even if no direct economic sanctions against that country are announced, Singh also laid out conditions for the return to a bilateral dialogue with Islamabad. ``As the initiator of the dialogue, India will not stand in the way, but for the process to resume, there must be an appropriate climate for change,'' Singh said, adding, ``I have said earlier that it is important to turn back the bus to Lahore. But even if you don't want to, please stop calling for `jehad' from every rooftop, every day and by every organisation.''

With the US putting pressure on India to resume its dialogue with Pakistan, India's refusal to dealwith Musharraf seems to have been boosted by the Commonwealth. Singh now goes into a round of talks with his counterpart in London that will not only include an appreciation of Washington's support at Kargil and other bilateral issues, such as the impending visit of Clinton to India, but also the situation in Pakistan. Besides the overwhelming attention given to Pakistan, the summit also discussed the impending WTO conference at Seattle on November 30, with Singh saying that a large number of developing countries had requested India to pursue their case at the conference. Nevertheless, Singh added that New Delhi would not hesitate to engage bilaterally with nations and had indeed done so in recent weeks with the US and the European Union. While India felt that trade linkages with labour and environment was a ``non-starter'', he said New Delhi would positively look at issues like electronic commerce and information technology, since ``India stands to gain from them''.