Islamabad: Signalling that it would endorse any decision by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to keep the influential post of the Army Chief beyond this year, the Commonwealth has said it desired the General to stay in uniform for a longer period for the sake of national interest.

"I think it is for the sake of national stakes that he should stay in uniform longer. He has not done this by some kind of military decree. He has actually gone to Parliament and asked them to pass a bill now," Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon, who recently visited Islamabad, told the BBC Radio.

He said though Musharraf has not fully met the Commonwealth expectations, it would be wrong to brand him as a military ruler.

McKinnon, who after a meeting with Musharraf observed that a bill approved by the National Assembly permitting Musharraf to hold two offices was inadequate, said the Commonwealth ideally, wanted Pakistan to have a separate President and the Chief of the Army Staff.

But Musharraf deserved credit for his efforts to make Pakistan a full democracy, he said, adding that the President held "reasonable" elections in Pakistan and gave realistic authority to Parliament and granted press freedom.