Daily Times

In recent times, Pakistan-Russia relations, which have experienced ebb and flow during the cold war, are blooming. Since the cold war, the Soviet pursuit to reach warm waters was inferred as a Russian design to separate Balochistan from Pakistan. There were hints that the USSR was influential in encouraging regimes in Kabul to espouse a semi-hostile position towards Pakistan. The Soviets always supported the Indian stance on Kashmir and had a significant contribution towards the creation of Bangladesh. However, on the other side, Pakistan’s memberships of SEATO, CENTO, and permitting Americans to carry out U-2 flights from Peshawar were some of the aggravations that resulted in a bitter bilateral relationship between Pakistan and Russia. After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Pakistan became directly involved in the Afghanistan fight to drive out the intruder. After the disintegration of the USSR, Russia had been accusing Pakistan of supporting Islamist uprisings in Chechnya and other areas. Although both states experienced a bad association in the past, now however, both seem ready to discard the legacy of the past and move forward.

Pakistan was the first to recognise Russia as the successor state of the USSR. Pakistan’s relations with the Russian federation began in 1991. The collapse of the Soviet Union provided an opportunity for a new beginning in Pak-Russia relations, which was taken up by both sides. These relations were based on a mutual understanding of each other. High-level bilateral contacts took place between Pakistan and the Russian federation immediately thereafter. The concerns of mistrust, suspicion, ill will and enemy images, which for decades overshadowed relations between the two countries, particularly during the cold war, are at present almost fictional. The new phase in Pak-Russian relations commencing from 1991 is however devoid of challenges and opportunities. Russia, a former superpower and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has an international thump and is an imperative player in regional politics. Russia is rich in mineral resources, is industrially developed, technologically advanced and militarily powerful, playing a leading role in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) with China and taking a compact posture against separatism, militancy and extremism. Russia considers Pakistan crucial in order to curtail threats that impose dangers to its security and sovereignty. More than Russia, it is Pakistan that requires space and munificence at the international level to manage isolation and strained ties with the western powers, mainly the United States.

In this era of a New Great Game, Pakistan needs to have its proper role and share to achieve its strategic and economic objectives in the region. Unlike the western powers, particularly the United States, the Russian federation has a history of providing assistance for strengthening the industrial infrastructure of Pakistan and other developing countries. Since the early 1950s, when Pakistan joined the anti-communist alliances, several billion dollars of economic and military aid was provided by the United States and many western powers to Pakistan, but not to uplift the socio-economic conditions of the people or to help the country achieve self-reliance in industrial-technological areas. The greatest landmark in the history of Pakistan-Russia relations is the gift of the Pakistan Steel Mills, which reflects the base for a longstanding relationship.

Trade relations between Pakistan and Russia remained trifling for a long time as the two sides remained suspicious of each other. The volume of trade between Russia and Pakistan increased from $ 92 million in 2003 to over $ 700 million in 2011. There is an urgency to create strong economic links with Russia. The likely area of cooperation seems to be the expansion of the Steel Mills Karachi as well as investment by Russian firms in Pakistan’s oil and gas sector. Over the past few years, Pakistan and Russia have become a part of the regional political, security and economic dialogue such as the SCO and a quadrilateral dialogue. Pakistan is very keen on becoming its full member, for which it requires Russian support. In fact, Pakistan got observer status at the SCO in 2005 because Russia chose not to veto it. In return, Islamabad supported Moscow for being given observer status at the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC). Russia has expressed a keen interest in construction and investment in the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project. Pakistan has appreciated Russian interest to participate in projects for coal power generation from deposits in Sindh, and hydel power projects like Munda, Kuramtangi and Muzzaffargarh.

Consequently, Pakistan must accept the Russian offer to invest in the energy sector, heavy industry, mining, infrastructure development and building of water reserves. These should have been accepted, especially when Pakistan is in need of foreign investment and its industries are suffering because of the severe power crisis since the last many years. Russia is also interested in extending its expertise to Pakistan in the fields of irrigation and transport technology. It has offered to supply Pakistan high-speed passenger train coaches, locomotives and signalling systems. Pakistan should welcome these offers. President Putin’s vision to restore Russia to great power status offers opportunities for Pakistan for a realignment of its relations with the former. Russia has been viewing with concern that India has decisively aligned itself with the US, with the US as a result not only gaining access to South Asia, but also making fast inroads into Central Asia. Russia is seeking an ally in the region as a substitute for India. As Pakistan is struggling to distance itself from the US, Russia is naturally more interested in Pakistan than ever before. Rediscovering Russia in difficult circumstances is certainly a moment of truth for Pakistan. If Islamabad loses an opportunity to widen its foreign policy depth by revitalising its relations with Moscow, it may not get such a chance for years to come.

If Pakistani policy makers and the business community would extend their hand for trade and markets, the country would be able to improve its economic condition . In this way, the country would be able to tackle the issues of economic instability, for which international financial institutions and the US failed to help Pakistan. Economic stability is not possible without the strength of the domestic economy. In the changing scenario, there is an urgent need to change the direction of foreign policy because without a drastic alteration, Pakistan cannot take advantage of a market-oriented economy. For this purpose, Pakistan has to shift its policy towards the Russian federation, which can be beneficial in resolving problems like the energy and food shortages, infrastructure development, metal industry, agriculture, and construction of dams, hydro projects and discovery of natural resources. Nevertheless, a genuine effort must be undertaken to improve our relations with Russia, as better relations with Moscow will serve our interests best.

The writer is an MPhil student in the International Relations at the QAU, Islamabad and can be reached at gleamsoul@yahoo.com