For several decades Pakistan’s relations with former Soviet Union and now Russia remained eclipsed for multiple reasons.
The ice started melting recently when President Asif Ali Zardari visited Moscow some months back followed by his meeting with Russian President in a Central Asian state during a four-nation conference. During this meeting, Russian President offered huge investment in Pakistan’s energy sector. The change in Russian attitude came following India’s becoming new-found friend of the United States.
According to a report, there is a strong feeling in the Russian Foreign Office that some elements in Pakistani Foreign Office had consistently been sabotaging attempts to normalise bilateral relations between the two countries. No doubt these relations had touched the lowest ebb during the Afghan war in 1980s.
But since then a lot of water has passed under the bridge and there is a dire need to explore all such options in the wake of the United States’ bullying attitude despite the fact that Pakistan is a frontline state in its international war on terror.
Despite making unparalleled sacrifices in terms of human lives and property, we are still being asked to ‘do more’. We can tell the Americans ‘enough is enough’ only when we have friends to lean back on.
FARHAN AHMED
Karachi
