Seminar on Tehran Muslim Unity Conference: Mushahid says: “Regional hands must shape region’s Future”. Iran Ambassador praises Field Marshal Asim Munir for ‘his positive peace initiatives
ISLAMABAD, NOV 3 /DNA/ – Speakers at a seminar on “impact and significance of Tehran Muslim Unity Conference” agreed that Iran War has provided an opportunity for regional countries to reshape the region, without foreign interference. The International Parliamentarians Congress (IPC) had organized a seminar on the landmark Tehran Muslim Unity Conference in which there was a lively and candid discussion on the impact and consequences of the October 21 meeting in Tehran with the Makkah Defence Alliance on the initiative of Pakistan. In his opening remarks, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed said that “we are living in an era of transformation, turbulence and transition” and he said that the “division and decline of the West together with the rise of China and the emergence of Muslim Middle Powers were new global realities”. Among Muslim Middle Powers, he listed Pakistan, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia and said these countries had a broad consensus that the main threat to the Muslim world came from Israel and hence there was a need for strong Muslim unity.
Referring to Pakistan’s pivotal role and the recent developments, Senator Mushahid Hussain quoted the Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who in his press conference in Cairo on 19 December, 1946, had said that the “creation of Pakistan would be a source of strength for the Muslims of the Middle East”, in other words, the Founder of Pakistan had linked Pakistan’s role and destiny even before the creation of Pakistan with the Muslim World, which had now turned into a reality. He said that Pakistan had done three major achievements in the last few months starting with the April 7 ceasefire between Iran and the United States, the 17 June Islamabad MOU and the 21 October historic meeting in Tehran between the four Muslim countries. He said that Pakistan played such an important role which should actually have been played by the international organizations like the United Nations, the OIC, the Arab League or the EU but these organizations failed to deliver. Senator Mushahid Hussain said that the Islamabad MOU already agreed upon by Iran and the United States with Pakistan also as a signatory was still the only viable framework for durable peace, security and stability in the region. He reiterated Pakistan’s principledposition of condemning the US and Israel’s unprovoked and unwarranted aggression against Iran, which had destabilized the region and caused a major global energy and economic crisis. He said the “time has come for regional hands to reshape the region’s future, without foreign interference”.
The Ambassador of Iran, Dr. Raza Amiri Mughaddam, in his speech talked about the historic development of the Iranian Revolution under the Imam Khomenie which transformed Iran from what it was once called ‘second Israel’ under the the Shah to a bastion of resistance against Zionism. He referred to the leadership and contributions of Imam Khomeni of Iran in mobilizing millions of Iranians in support of the Islamic Revolution. The Ambassador of Iran also welcomed Makkah Defence Alliance as a positive step and he praised Field Marshal Asim Minir fir his good initiative to bring Islamic countries together in Tehran on 26 October and he said that all our leadership welcomes it because if we four countries (Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia) have unity and we come together, nobody can harm us.
Ambassador Masud Khan, former President, Azad Kashmir and former Ambassador to the United States and China recounted the recent developments in the region and said that the situation was disastrous and explosive. He further added that all sides should adhere to the peaceful settlement of the issue including the Strait of Hormuz and any other path would have dangerous consequences. Other speakers at the seminar included Ms. Nasim Zahra, prominent journalist and Anchor, Admiral (R) Hasham Siddiqui, former Ambassador of Pakistan to Saudi Arabia and Maj. Gen. (R) Zahid Mahmood, Dean of NUST, who spoke on different dimensions of the conflict and its consequences. They also hailed Pakistan’s initiative to bring the delegation of Makkah Defence Alliance to Tehran saying that Muslim Unity was the need of the hour and this was the best way to thwart Natanyahu’s plan of ‘greater Israel’.
