Amid War, Imran Discusses Ties With Putin

By Our Special Correspondent

As the world watched with concern the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Pakistan Prime Minister Mr. Imran Khan sat down to discuss bilateral ties and global issues with Russian President Mr. Vladimir Putin at Kremlin on February 24, 2022. Mr. Khan’s two-day Moscow visit, the first by a Pakistani PM in over two decades, put Islamabad in a tricky situation when it came to balancing its important economic and strategic relationships with the West vis-à-vis Russia. Mr. Khan was the first foreign dignitary to have met President Putin at Kremlin after the attack on Ukraine.

The statement issued by Pakistan foreign office said that the two leaders held wide-ranging consultations on bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest. The two leaders discussed cooperation in prospective energy-related projects. Mr. Khan reaffirmed the importance of the long-delayed, multi-billion-dollar Pakistan-Stream Gas Pipeline as a flagship economic project between Pakistan and Russia. He underscored Pakistan’s commitment to forge a long-term, multi-dimensional relationship with Russia. He underscored Pakistan PM underlined the urgency of addressing the humanitarian crisis and preventing potential economic meltdown in Afghanistan.

On the situation in South Asia, the statement said that Mr. Khan highlighted the alleged human rights abuses in Jammu & Kashmir and underscored the imperative of peaceful resolution of the dispute. He also focused on the developments “detrimental to regional peace and stability” and stressed the need for measures that would help keep the regional balance. Pak PM also expressed concern over rising trend of extremism and Islamophobia in the world while emphasizing the need for interfaith harmony and coexistence.