Little does the Pakistan Prime Minister realise that his country's position has made a nosedive in the comity of nations, and even US President Joe Biden is yet to speak to him over the phone.
New Delhi: Imran Khan has become the first Pakistani prime minister to visit Russia in 23 years. Imran Khan is that breed of politician who seldom learns anything from past experiences and mistakes. There are fewer 'corrective steps' in their logic and actions, yet there will always be some admirers.
During the Winter Olympics, Imran had rushed to China to establish and strengthen the 'iron brother' friendship with Beijing. Instead, there was a sort of snub. Even Pakistani observers say it was a real "chilly reception" accorded to a onetime cricket hero in Beijing.
He was received by Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Wu Jianghao, and this certainly was "degrees below the protocol extended to his predecessors", says Pakistani author and expert F.S. Aijazuddin.
Now, the Pak PM has decided to make a trip to Moscow. Of course, the "timing of this visit is fraught with implications" when the Ukraine crisis is at its peak.
"…. Russia has confronted the US and NATO over Ukraine. The PM, before leaving for Moscow, tried to allay the suspicions of our 'with us or against us?' Western allies insist that we are not part of any bloc. Seventy-five years of alignment belies this assertion. We do belong to a bloc — of debtor nations whose economies are governed by US dictates," said Aijazuddin in a newspaper article.
This trip to Russia is as if on the "rebound" after China flip-flop. The same Putin who, ten years ago, "cancelled his own trip to Islamabad citing the insecurity" caused by Imran's party PTI's container protests.
In a rather sarcastic remark, the article says – Imran is like "like other leaders whenever wobbly at home (e.g. Nixon/ de Gaulle/ Thatcher), believes that he has a higher role to play on the international stage."
Little does the Pakistan Prime Minister realise that his country's position has made a nosedive in the comity of nations, and even US President Joe Biden is yet to speak to him over the phone.
Meanwhile, experts caution that any 'escalation' in the Ukraine-Russia crisis can impact Pakistan's food security. Ukraine has emerged as a major market for wheat imports of Pakistan. In 2020-21, Pakistan imported nearly 1.2 million tonnes of wheat from Ukraine.
It is being argued in certain quarters that Imran, who has been itching for a long time to travel to Russia to shore up Pakistan's weakening geopolitical position in relation to India and refurbish his domestic credentials as a global leader, is unlikely to complain about Russia's new offensive against Ukraine. That, too, is part of a shift in Islamabad's standpoint.
In recent years, there has been growing warmth between Pakistan and Ukraine, which Islamabad has courted as a counterweight to New Delhi's traditional ties with Moscow. At the same time, Pakistan wants to develop a more productive engagement with Russia.
One reason is Russia, with all its regional and global clout, is a 'much bigger' strategic prize for Pakistan than Ukraine. But India-Russia bond has been reestablished in recent times in more ways than one.
