Pakistan became a member of the Commonwealth in 1947. In 1972, Pakistan withdrew its membership in protest of the Commonwealth’s recognition of the newly established Bangladesh -- former East Pakistan.

However, in 1989 Pakistan rejoined the Commonwealth. Ten years later, General Pervez Musharraf ousted Nawaz Sharif’s democratic government, declared a state of emergency and suspended the constitution. Pakistan’s Commonwealth membership was suspended for the first time.

Pakistan was re-admitted in 2004 when Musharraf promised to resign as Army Chief and restore democracy.

However, this month Musharraf once again declared a state of emergency and suspended the constitution. And Commonwealth member states started considering whether to suspend Pakistan for a third time.

Loss of prestige

Analysts believe that Pakistan’s suspension from the Commonwealth would mean a great loss of prestige for the South Asian country.

Otherwise, the impact with regard to Pakistan’s economic and military cooperation with other Commonwealth countries will only be minor, according to former foreign secretary Tanveer Ahmed Khan.

"It will certainly be a public relations disaster for Pakistan. After the Commonwealth, the European Union will probably react in the same way. A chain reaction is expected."

Former diplomat Tariq Fatemi also thinks the suspension would be a diplomatic setback for Pakistan: "It will defame the government and will also boost the morale of opposition political parties. It will make people think that the government of Pakistan has failed to convince the world that the imposition of emergency is only an internal matter and doesn’t have an effect on its foreign relations."

If Pakistan is suspended on Thursday, it will be the second time during Musharraf’s rule that this has happened. Last year, the Commonwealth suspended Fiji after a military coup in the South Pacific Ocean nation, while Zimbabwe in southern Africa was suspended in 2002.