MOSCOW: Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed said “Pakistan is looking forward to joining BRICS” and welcomed the “winds of change blowing through South Asia that reject hegemony, status quo and seek change”, referring to recent radical changes in the Maldives, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He expressed these views during the keynote speech at the BRICS seminar. As a result, he said, the so-called “Indo-Pacific Strategy is now drowning in the waters of the Indian Ocean,” according to a press release. BRICS (Brazil, India, China and South Africa) is an intergovernmental organization comprising various nations including BRICS and Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. Senator Mushahid criticized the recent US sanctions against Pakistan and China, calling them “immoral, unjust, unacceptable and illegal” as only the UN Security Council can impose sanctions under international law. He also condemned “Western hypocrisy and double standards on Palestine”. Senator Mushahid Hussain said the Global Order has been marked by turbulence and transformation with two contrasting narratives. China and the Global South focus on connectivity and trade and economic cooperation. At the BRICS seminar, Senator Mushahid Hussain urged to define a new narrative based on emerging realities to counter propaganda, fake news and misinformation. For the future, Mushahid proposed a 3-D strategy for BRICS: democratization of the world order based on multipolarity, multilateralism, the UN Charter and international law, demilitarization of international relations, rejection of any new military alliances such as “Asian NATO”, QUAD or AUKUS, de-dollarization of the world economy and greater trade in non-dollar currencies as the dollar was weaponized. Senator Mushahid Hussain was warmly welcomed by the host Mikhail Shvydkoy, Special Envoy of President Putin, as well as Chinese Minister of International Communications Wang Gang. Apart from Russia and China, other countries represented at the BRICS seminar included India, Brazil, South Africa, Egypt, Iran and the UAE. Senator Mushahid Hussain was the only representative from a non-BRICS state.
