The Commonwealth Heads of Government, currently meeting in Uganda, have for once made a good decision. They have (temporarily) booted Pakistan out of the Commonwealth because of the terrible political situation there.

So what? You might say. Isn't the Commonwealth just an anacronistic waste of time? Well, for the UK it might not compete with our membership of the G8 or our permanent seat on the UN Security Council. But for many member states of the Commonwealth and their leaders, membership helps to cement their status as world players.

Membership of this kind of international club should mean more than chummy meetings in faraway places. In 1999 when the same group met in South Africa, they decided against kicking out Pakistan when Musharraf seized power undemocratically.

While some might say that the Commonwealth cold shoulder is unlikely to give Musharraf sleepless nights, it is an important and well-timed decision. Just when we thought it was all over for our international institutions, maybe, just maybe, the oldest of them all has set a fine example that might breathe new life into our fragile internationalism. 

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