Senate Defense Committee Chairman Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed has said that Australia should treat India and Pakistan at par without any double standards on nuclear issue so that regional peace and stability could be ensured and the region may prosper.
Sayed expressed these views in a meeting with Commonwealth of Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Secretary Peter Varghese.
The senator said that Pakistan valued its relationship with Australia and desired to further strengthen the multidimensional bilateral cooperation in different fields including trade, agriculture, education, energy and security etc. He pointed out that education was the key area for Pakistan, Australian cooperation. He lauded the humanitarian assistance and welcomed the Australian role as part of Asia in Asian century.
Senator Mushahid and other senators expressed their serious concern over Australian government deal with India on uranium and termed it a violation of previous pledges to promote non-proliferation, while treating Pakistan differently. It seems that politics has won over the principles, Mushahid remarked.
During the meeting senators from different political parties including Senator Dr Saeeda Iqbal, Chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Defence Production, Farhatullah Babar, Syed Tahir Hussain Mashhadi, Mrs Sehar Kamran and Abdul Rauf were also present on the occasion.
