Senator calls UN Peace-keeping forces to replace US, NATO troops in Afghanistan

The Chairman of the Senate Defense Committee of Pakistan, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, said on Sunday that the presence of Afghanistans non-neighboring countries peacekeeping mission, supported by the UN, might fill the vacuum after the withdrawal of US and NATO forces next year, said an official press release. While addressing a conference on "ISAF withdrawal from Afghanistan", the Senator said that the future of regional countries is based on co-existence and close cooperation. He added 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. Mushahid expressed his hopes that Afghanistan could learn from example of Cambodia, where armed sections merged in to one national army, after a bitter civil war. He called the concept of strategic depth as outdated and emphasized that Afghanistans future lies in the hands of Afghan people and everybody must support their elected government. The Senator added "Such set-up could be beneficial for the stability and peace of Afghanistan with positive effects on whole region."