From Kabul to Kyiv, Pakistan’s persistent diplomatic course

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Abstract

On February 23, Pakistan’s Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan arrived in Moscow for a two-days visit. According to open sources, the PM’s Russia trip was for a ‘exchange of views on major regional and international issues’1, aiming at a reset of bilateral ties and ‘expanding cooperation in the energy sector’. When opening the discussions, Imran Khan chose a remarkably peculiar statement. Referring to the then current situation, he said: ‘What a time I have come, so much excitement’. Putin’s “bullying” of the Ukraine reached at that very moment and once again a dramatic peak (after the illegal annexation of Ukrainian Crimea in 2014). Even before Khan’s departure to Moscow it was well-known that Russia is again taking unprovoked, coercive measures against Ukraine. For example, the unacceptable threatening of the Ukrainian government and its people by a massive build-up of forces along the country’s borders, or pushing the level of violations to the Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty to new heights. Making the situation worse, just a few hours after Khan’s dubious remark, Russia conducted a full-scale invasion of its neighbor, an independent European country. As such, it does not come by surprise that Khan’s appearance in Moscow raised criticisms. […]