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| April 2, 2006 | Sunday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 3, 1427 |
Nato faces new challenges of terrorism, energy security
ISLAMABAD, April 1: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) is in the process of opening the partnership of the alliance, said Nato secretary-general for political affairs and security policy Ambassador Robert Simmons here on Saturday.
Speaking at a seminar on “Nato in the post-cold war”, Ambassador Simmons said many “groups of partners” wanted to join the alliance for purposes other than defence cooperation.
The areas of interests by new groups include cooperation on civil emergencies and political dialogue, he added.
The seminar was organized by the Islamabad-based Institute of Strategic Studies (ISS).
Ambassador Simmons said collective security was the core purpose of the alliance; however, other dimensions have been added to the concept of stability in terms of new challenges to security including terrorism and energy security.
There was a realization among Nato partners to transform the existing static structure of the armed forces into a more mobile and flexible one, he added.
He also spoke about the broad nature of the alliance’s partnership, specially with Russia, and a number of international organizations. He emphasised the importance of Central Asia and the Caucasus for Nato.
Referring to the October 8 earthquake, he said the relief operation by Nato had worked to the mutual benefit of both Pakistan and the organization.
Speaking on the subject of “Pakistan’s perception of the end of the cold war and Nato’s role,” Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad (ISSI) Director-General Dr Shireen Mazari said the demise of the Soviet Union was actually the end of bipolarity rather than the end of the cold war.
“The end of bipolarity has resulted in the destruction of any balance in the international system with the US emerging as the sole super power,” she added.
Quoting Article 51 of the UN Charter, she questioned the continuing rationale for Nato after the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact in 1991.
She pointed out that Nato had, in fact, begun seeking a new validity, almost immediately, with the creation of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council as a forum for consultations between Nato members, East European states and the former Soviet republics.
Since then, the alliance began focusing on bringing into the fold the Eastern European states, she added.
She attributed Nato’s survival to the sheer weight of its bureaucratic and organizational structure. Turkish Ambassador Kemal Gur chaired the second session of the seminar titled, “Role in disaster management.”
Nato Deputy Secretary General for Operations Ambassador Maurits Jochems highlighted Nato’s contribution in the post-quake relief efforts.
Brig Omer Farooq of the Federal Relief Commission gave an overview of the destruction caused by the earthquake and the consequent relief efforts made by Pakistan and the international organizations.—APP
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