ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan would during his two-day sanctioned visit to Russia, which begins from Wednesday, seek to further cement bilateral relations with Moscow.
The Foreign Office on Monday blazoned the high minister’s trip, saying Mr Khan will visit Russia on Feb 23-24 on the assignation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He’ll be accompanied by a high-position delegation, including members of the press, on the “ sanctioned visit”, the FO said.
“ The visit of the high minister will contribute to the further deepening of the multifaceted Pakistan-Russia bilateral relationship and improvement of collective cooperation in different fields,” it added.
The advertisement was made amidst growing queries about the visit due to fears of a likely war between Russia and Ukraine, and the evolving political script at home.
It’ll be the first bilateral visit by a Pakistani high minister to Russia nearly 23 times. Former high minister Nawaz Sharif last visited Moscow in 1999.
The FO said Mr Khan’s meeting with President Putin would be “ the highlight of the visit”.
The two leaders would during their meeting review the state of bilateral cooperation, especially in the energy sector, besides swapping views on indigenous and global issues. The FO linked Afghanistan and Islamophobia as the two issues that they’re anticipated to bandy.
The visit in fact redounded from PM Khan’s call to President Putin on Jan 17 for praising him for his review of the incidents of sacrilege in Western countries.
The high minister had on that occasion twittered that he’d called President Putin “ primarily to express appreciation for his emphatic statement that freedom of speech couldn’t be a rationale to abuse our Holy Prophet (PBUH). He’s the first Western leader to show empathy & perceptivity to Muslim sentiment for their cherished Holy Prophet (PBUH)”.
Just spoke to President Putin primarily to express my appreciation for his emphatic statement that freedom of speech could not be a pretext to abuse our Prophet PBUH. He is the first Western leader to show empathy & sensitivity to Muslim sentiment for their beloved Prophet PBUH
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) January 17, 2022
Mr Putin appreciated Mr Khan’s gesture as it corroborated the perception that he was sympathetic to Muslim causes, especially in view of Russia’s nearly 25 million-strong Muslim community.
Relations between the former cold war foes have gradationally bettered over the once nearly 12 times. They were brought closer by developments in Afghanistan, metamorphosis in geopolitical terrain and Russian enterprises about terrorism and anaesthetics dealing.
The upward line in bilateral ties is visible from the high-position engagements the two sides have held over these times and the institutional mechanisms they’ve established to sustain this instigation.
The two developments that in particular supported this fellowship were the signing of a bilateral defence cooperation agreement in 2014 and Pakistan’s addition in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation with Russian backing in 2017.
Both sides say their ties are marked by “ collective respect, trust and confluence of views on a range of transnational and indigenous issues”.
Although Islamabad-Moscow ties continue to remain security acquainted, at the same time sweats are proceeding for expanding profitable cooperation. Russia is particularly interested in the energy sector and is likely to invest in the construction of the 1100km-long Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline that’s planned for transporting gas from Karachi to Kasur. The two sides are presently negotiating shareholding and facilitation agreements of the design.
Balancing act
In an intriguing balancing act ahead of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s forthcoming visit to Moscow, Pakistan on Monday expressed support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Ukraine’s First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Emine Dzheppar twittered that Pakistan’s Ambassador retired Major Gen Noel Israel Khokhar met her and expressed support for her country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. “ Grateful to Pakistan for supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” she said.
The timing of the meeting is being seen as veritably significant as it took place days before PM Khan will be visiting Russia at a time of its heightened pressures with Ukraine.
Judges have read it as a balancing act by Pakistan.
For over a decade now, Pakistan’s minister in Kyiv has been a sheltered military officer. Defence cooperation between Pakistan and Ukraine, particularly in the field of defence products, has been growing as several systems are underway on the basis of the transfer of technology and common gambles between both sides.
In 2020, Ukraine won the contract for a form of IL-78 air-refueller. Meanwhile, Ukrainian- erected T-80UD tanks are a pivotal part of Pakistan’s armoured fraternity.
Ukraine has, also, surfaced as a major request for wheat import for Pakistan. In 2020-21, Pakistan imported nearly1.2 million tonnes of wheat from Ukraine.
Any escalation in the Ukraine-Russia extremity can, thus, also impact Pakistan’s food security.
