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 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.
Mushahid expressed concern that the projected withdrawal of Nato in 2014 must not be an action replay of 1989 when there was a messy exit which resulted in a longer civil war in Afghanistan.
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 comprised senators Mushahid Hussain, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Sabir Baloch, Haji Adeel, and Sehar Kamran.