Commonwealth foreign ministers yesterday suspended Pakistan from the 53-nation grouping, saying the situation there represented a "serious violation" of its fundamental political values. A Commonwealth official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP earlier this week that a suspension means: . a ban on Pakistan attending any Commonwealth meeting anywhere in the world, including the three-day heads of government summit that begins in Kampala today. . the withdrawal of "technical assistance", where officials from one Commonwealth country are sent to another member state with a view to improving public administration and government. . a bar on attending Commonwealth-run training programmes and workshops for officials. . exclusion from the Commonwealth Games, which are next due to be held in India in 2010. Suspension from the Commonwealth is largely symbolic, but diplomatic isolation often goes hand-in-hand with more punitive economic sanctions. The United States has already said it is mulling a withdrawal of aid following Musharraf's declaration of a state of emergency on November 3. Pakistan was previously suspended from the Commonwealth after the army general seized power in a coup in 1999, but it was restored as a full member in 2004. The Commonwealth has since helped the country in a number of areas. It sent medical experts to help with the aftermath of the devastating 2005 earthquake, has trained public sector administrators and helped the country's media set up a code of conduct for impartial coverage of elections. Ongoing programmes include training on good governance, infrastructure building through public-private partnerships, environmental sustainability as well as improving Internet access for children in remote villages. Reprinted from jamaicaobserver.com