The Pakistan High Commission now finds itself to a somewhat awkward position as a result of its attempt to dissuade the Royal Commonwealth Society from inviting Mr Justice Abu Sayeed Chowdhury, the overseas representative of the provisional Bangla Desh government, to address a meeting there last Tuesday.

As I reported on Monday, the High Commission had initially “expressed surprise" that the society should provide a platform to a Bangla Desh spokesman. But when the society made it clear that it was going ahead with the meeting, the High Commission adopted a high-handed attitude, and wrote threatening that it would be “compelled to review the entire question of its association” with the society.

The deputy High Commissioner, Selimuz Zaman, took the issue to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, complaining that a society whose name includes the words “ Royal" and ' Commonwealth ” was intending to lend, its premises for purposes “blatantly opposed" to the existence of a Commonwealth state However, there was little the FCO could do as the society is no way beholden to the Government.

What will the Pakistanis now do? Do they follow up their implied threat to withdraw support from the society (which would probably mean that their High Commissioner, Salman Ali, would have to resign as a vice-president)? Or now that their bold attempts to stop the (Incomplete???)