Mushahid calls for UN Peace-keeping Forces to fill vacuum in Afghanistan

Senate of Pakistan

Mushahid calls for UN Peace-keeping Forces to fill vacuum in Afghanistan

December 16, 2013

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Senate Defence Committee Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed on Saturday said the current situation in Afghanistan is entirely different from that of September-2001.

The presence of Afghanistan's non-neighboring countries' peacekeeping mission, supported by the UN, might fill the vacuum after the withdrawal of US and NATO forces next year, he added.

He was addressing a conference on "ISAF withdrawal from Afghanistan: Bilateral partnership for peace and cooperation organized by South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA).

Senator Mushahid Hussain, highlighting the emerging "New Regionalism", further said the future of regional countries is based on co-existence and close cooperation.

He was of the view that all neighboring countries of Afghanistan including Pakistan, China, Iran and Central Asian states have strategic stakes there and the US-Iran agreement will have positive effect on the region.

He also termed the concept of 'Strategic Depth' outdated and emphasized that Afghanistan's future lies in the hands of Afghan people and their elected government must be supported by everybody.

The Senator hoped that Afghanistan can learn from example of Cambodia, where, after a bitter civil war, armed sections were merged in to one national army.

"Such set-up could be beneficial for the stability and peace of Afghanistan with positive effects on whole region," he said.