Why Putin didn’t visit Pakistan
Pakistan and Russia had invested enough time and energy in preparing for what was to be a groundbreaking visit by the Russian president to Islamabad. A lot of initial work had been done to bring the two countries together. Zardari met former Russian President Medvedev, currently serving as Prime Minister, six times in three years. A Russian delegation was in Islamabad to give final touches to the preparations. Islamabad was told that Moscow now supported Pakistan’s membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The sudden cancellation of the visit by the Russian president is a rebuff that could not have been administered without cogent reasons. What is intriguing is that the FO has failed to make public the cause mentioned in the letter sent from Moscow. This has already led to speculations of all types. It has been suggested that Putin had in fact never committed himself to a bilateral meeting with his Pakistani counterpart, indicating that the hype thus created by the Pakistani media was uncalled for. It has also been suggested that while Russia and Pakistan signed a number of MoUs, Islamabad displayed little seriousness in their implementation. Conspiracy theorists have pointed fingers alternately at Washington and New Delhi for causing the cancellation, the former by pressuring Pakistan and the later by dissuading Russia.
The quadrilateral summit which was to bring together Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan has also been canceled along with Putin’s visit. Two years back the forum had approved a number of projects vital for the region that included Central Asia-South Asia electricity transmission from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan (CASA-1000), and the construction of rail tracks and motor roads from Tajikistan to Pakistan to create new trade routes in the region. Pakistan wants Russia to overhaul the Karachi Steel Mills, undertake several power sector projects and help prospect for oil and gas, but details of the deals are yet to be finalized.
If Zamir Kabulov, Putin’s pointsman for Pakistan and Afghanistan, is to be believed, Russia is apparently upset over non seriousness in Pakistan in the pursuit of agreements. What still inspires hope is Putin’s indirect invitation to Zardari to visit Moscow. Russia and Pakistan share common concerns regarding the future of Afghanistan after the departure of the NATO-led troops. Both recognize the importance of the economic potential of the region which can be realized only through mutual cooperation. While Pakistan has to retain friendly ties with the US, it has to work seriously to remove Russian reservations. Hopefully, the visit by the COAS due next month would go off well.
