Pakistan was suspended from the 53-nation Commonwealth on Thursday over President Pervez Musharraf's failure to lift imposition of emergency rule and meet a deadline to restore democracy in the country.
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.
CMAG membership rotates, and Canada is on its fourth and final year.
Other members are the UK, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Malta (Chair), Tanzania, Lesotho and Malaysia, and Saint Lucia, which did not attend the meeting.
Canada's position was announced by Sandra Buckler, a spokesperson for Harper.
Â鶹´«Ã½ reporter David Akin said before the decision came down that Canada took a more hard-line stance than some other members of the Commonwealth.
He said that Britain, for example, had been more conciliatory and did not take a stand about whether or not Pakistan should be suspended from the Commonwealth.
He said Pakistan had wanted the Commonwealth to wait a few days before making a decision, but that was not good enough for Canada.
With over 2,000 troops in Afghanistan, a direct neighbour to Pakistan, Canada has a major stake in ensuring the nation returns to some form of stability.
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting involves 53 member states, all linked together by Britain's colonial legacy.
Along with the giants like Britain, Canada, India, Pakistan and Nigeria, there are tiny member states such as Tuvalu, Tonga and Vanuatu.
Queen Elizabeth, who arrived in Uganda on Wednesday, will formally open the summit on Friday. The summit is expected to deal with international trade, climate change, and the problems facing small states.
Pakistan's situation
Other issues on the agenda will be democracy and human rights.
The Commonwealth nations had given Musharraf a Thursday deadline to end emergency rule in his country and step down from his role as army chief.
Musharraf claims he called emergency rule to combat Islamist extremists, but he has mainly used the powers to crack down on his secular opposition.
On Thursday, a newly installed Supreme Court cleared a final challenge to Musharraf's presidential election victory last month. The win was criticized because Pakistan has a constitutional ban on public servants running for elected office.
The leader has promised to step down as army chief once his election victory was confirmed.
This is the second time Pakistan has been booted from the Commonwealth. In 1999, following a coup in which Musharraf first seized power, Pakistan was kicked out of the organization for five years.
Fiji suspended
Last December, the Commonwealth also suspended the South Pacific nation of Fiji after Commodore Frank Bainimarama took power in a military coup.
However, opposition politicians in Uganda are angry at the Commonwealth for taking pressure off President Yoweri Museveni.
He came under fire at the 2005 summit in Malta after he jailed opposition leader Kizza Besigye.
The opposition has demonstrations planned for the summit's opening on Friday.
After the summit, Harper will travel to Tanzania, Canada's biggest recipient of foreign aid in Africa.
Harper is on his first trip to Africa as prime minister.
