Senate Defence Committee visits NATO headquarters

Date : 02-02-2014

ISLAMABAD: A delegation of the Senate Defence Committee led by its chairman Mushahid Hussain Sayed visited NATO headquarters in Brussels and held a meeting with NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow.

During its stay in Brussels, the delegation also visited the European Union headquarters and the European Parliament, meeting Patricia Flor, EU Special Representative for Central Asia.

Senator Mushahid Hussain also addressed an expert dinner roundtable on "Prospects and Challenges for Pakistan's Regional Security", which was attended by diplomats, parliamentarians and think tank experts.

The European parliamentarians met by the delegation included Michael Gahler, Head of EU Election Observers Mission, and Sajjad Karim, head of EU Friends of Pakistan, both of whom played a pivotal role in lobbying for EU's GSP+ status for Pakistan, said a message received here from Brussels.

During the interaction with the EU, Senator Mushahid thanked the European Parliament for their overwhelming approval of GSP Plus for Pakistan, which, he said, was a vote of confidence in Pakistan's democratic view and its pivotal role in the current regional context.

He said this would boost trade between the EU and Pakistan and also be a stimulus for the revival of economy.

Mushahid said Pakistan deserved more international support because its stability would contribute to regional security as well as be a plus for its role in facilitating the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan.

He said while the United States was spending 2.5 billion dollars every week on the war in Afghanistan, which comes to 10 billion dollars per month expenditure, the US was providing 7.5 billion dollars in assistance to Pakistan over a 5-year period, which, turned out to be less than one month's expenditure for the Afghan war. He also referred to the dynamism of Pakistani society, especially role of youth, women and the private sector entrepreneurs.

He expressed concern that the projected withdrawal of NATO in 2014 must not be an action replay of 1989 when there was a messy exist which resulted in a longer civil war in Afghanistan.

Senator Mushahid called for a regional approach to Afghanistan involving all the six immediate neighbours of Afghanistan plus Russia and the United States. He underlined the need for considering the United Nations Peace Keeping Force in Afghanistan after the NATO military exit to avoid any vacuum that could result in instability, violence and renewed civil strife.

The Senate Defence Committee delegation comprises senators Mushahid Hussain, Chaudhry Shujat Hussain, Sabir Baloch, Haji Adeel, and Sehar Kamran.