ISLAMABAD: Ex-Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed has welcomed Donald Trump’s election as US President, terming it as good for world peace and also welcomed his resolve to control US ‘Deep State’.

In a keynote address at the ‘Margalla Dialogue’, he also defined the ‘red lines’ in Pakistan’s national security and foreign policy, listing these as the nuclear/missile programmes, Occupied Kashmir & Palestine, China/CPEC, rejection of Indian hegemony and refusal to be party to any destabilisation of Iran.

Referring to the conference ‘Emerging Global Realities’, he cited new realities as retrenchment of Western and American power with diminished clout, the peaceful rise of China and resurgence of the Global South, with the likely emergence of Muslim Middle Powers like Pakistan, Turkiye, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia playing pivotal regional roles in the coming decade.

Mushahid praised Donald Trump as the first US President since John Kennedy who’s not a representative of the American security establishment, which, he said, tried to block Trump in this election. He also welcomed President Trump’s resolve to contain the US ‘Deep State’ which had been active in fomenting unrest, destabilisation and regime change in developing countries.

Mushahid Hussain also called for a regional reset in Pakistan’s foreign policy, urging the government not to unilaterally beg India for trade, talks or cricket matches, build better friction-free ties with Afghanistan and Iran, and alleviate Chinese concerns on terrorism.

Mushahid Hussain concluded his keynote address by stating that ‘Pakistan now has Strategic Space’ in the region but the biggest challenge for Pakistan is the mindset of defeatism and fear, which was demoralising and damaging for the country. An interactive question & answer session followed the speech.