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Geneva, 15 Mar: Participating as Special Guest in the conference of International Parliament for Tolerance & Peace (ITPT), hosted by former Speaker of Arab Parliament, Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Jaswan of the United Arab Emirates, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed said prerequisite for Tolerance and Peace was resolving longstanding conflicts like Palestine and Kashmir on the basis of United Nations resolutions seeking their right of self-determination. He also called for lifting of blockade to provide uninterrupted flow of humanitarian assistance and enforcement of ceasefire in current conflict situations in Gaza and the Sudan, where he urged for a civilian-led and civilian-owned peace process to initiate end to the Civil War which has resulted in food insecurity for majority of Sudan’s population as well as a third of its population is now homeless or displaced, resulting in a serious refugee crisis.
Senator Mushahid Hussain also welcomed the election of President Trump as a plus for world peace, as President Trump is neither a warmonger nor an exponent of any new Cold War. He welcomed President Trump’s efforts for peace in Ukraine as well as his initiative for diplomatic negotiations with Iran on the nuclear issue, adding all these issues can only be resolved through direct talks, not use or threat of force.
Senator Mushahid Hussain also acclaimed the role of UAE for promoting peace and terming under the enlightened leadership of President Mohammed bin Zayed, who is a close friend of Pakistan, adding over 100 nationalities reside in harmony and security in the UAE.
He concluded his speech by recalling that 2025 is the 70th Anniversary of the Bandung Conference in 1955, hosted by Indonesia, which for the first time brought together Asian & African countries on one platform, an initiative in which Pakistan was a founding member. He said the seeds of the resurgence of Global South were laid at Bandung and the world is witnessing an historic shift in the global balance of economic and political power, from the West to the East.
Parliamentarians and political and opinion leaders from 40 countries from four continents (Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe) took part in this conference, where keynote speeches were delivered by the Speaker of Tajikistan Parliament, Mohammed Zakirzade, and Secretary General of Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU), Martin Chungong.
The IPTP is the parliamentary arm of the Global Council for Tolerance & Peace, whose President, Ahmed Mohammed Al Jaswan, last month visited Pakistan to deliver a keynote address at the International Conference on ‘Regional Connectivity & Pakistan’ hosted by the Pakistan-China Institute, which is headed by Senator Mushahid Hussain.
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