Mushahid Tells US Lawmakers to Keep Balance
From a Link Correspondent
Washington, DC: Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chairman, Pakistan Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, in mid-November held productive meetings on Capitol Hill with several members of the US Congress, including but not limited to, Senator Tim Kaine – Vice Presidential running mate of Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Presidential elections – Senator Todd Young, and Congressmen Brad Sherman, Todd Yoho, and Brian Mast.
Discussed were issues central to US-Pakistan relations, including the indomitability of Kashmir resistance, India’s Hindutva posture, Afghanistan, the Kartarpur Corridor opening, and overall tensions roiling the region.
Mushahid drew parallels between the ideology of Nazism and that of the RSS, to which India Prime Minister Modi belonged. He posited how Pakistan, despite recent provocations from India, took a massive step toward peace and amity by opening the Kartarpur Corridor to Sikh pilgrims. He stressed that, for peace to endure, it has to be predicated on justice and not an imposed arrangement dictated by majoritarian tyranny. Mushahid emphasized Pakistan’s unchanging pivotal role on the global stage and underlined the need for the US to keep a balanced posture.
His meetings on Capitol Hill were ably facilitated by Pakistan’s Ambassador, DrAsadMajeed Khan. The Ambassador also feted the Senator in his residence at a well-attended dinner, which included US think-tank experts, South Asia specialists, and community figures. Separately and earlier, Mushahid led discussions of a visiting delegation representing the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) during their meetings with Hill representatives at the US Congress.
Prelude to his flight from Washington, Mushahidwas given a rousing sendoff by the community at Washington’s area Lakshmi Chowk restaurant – named after a fabled Lahore eatery area – whose owner, Haji Afzal of Ravi Kebab, was the primary host. Mushahid then flew onwards to Cambodia, where he addressed the 2019 Asia Pacific Summit.
Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed meeting Senator Tim Kaine in his Chambers at Capitol Hill (left) and addressing Asia Pacific Summit 2019 at Phnom Penh , Cambodia. At right is billboard honoring Senator Mushahid Hussain at the Summit
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