All the roads lead to Moscow. And India is paying close watch. Especially, as Prime Minister Imran Khan will make his first visit to the Kremlin from February 23.
He will be the first Pakistani prime minister to go to Russia after 23 years at a time when the Ukraine crisis looms large. This visit comes close on the heels of Khan's four-day-long visit to Beijing earlier this month—signalling a cementing bond. On the agenda—according to the Foreign Office—are Afghanistan and Islamophobia.
It is interesting, then, that Khan's trip coincides with the first shipment of 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat being shipped from India to Afghanistan via the Attari border. This has been the biggest collaboration between both the countries—that continue to be frosty—over Afghanistan, a country where the rivalry spills out. India continues not to recognise the Taliban government, while Pakistan has fostered links with the Taliban. The consignment of wheat and medicines is a humanitarian gesture and request that India made in October.
While Pakistan responded in November, it has taken months for both the two countries to work out.
“Route to Afghanistan and has historically proven to the game-changer not only for “aid but for trade'' in this region,'' tweeted the Afghan ambassador to India. “For over 2,500 years, the famous Grand Trunk Road (GT Road) linked the Indian Subcontinent with Central Asia via Kabul while passing through Amritsar. Free trade without barriers is the only way forward for lasting peace and economic prosperity in this region...”
This significant step is the backdrop of Khan's visit to Moscow. However, it is unlikely that this will further closer cooperation, even in the sphere of humanitarian aid, between the two countries over Afghanistan.
And India will certainly, be a topic of discussion when Khan meets Russian President Vladimir Putin. There has been a growing closeness of Islamabad and Moscow—much public wooing in the past year. In April last year, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov flew to Islamabad for two days. This was the first visit by a Russian foreign minister to Pakistan in nine years. The two countries have been steadily deepening military ties. Russia has shed its inhibitions to sell arms to Pakistan, a decision that has left India uneasy.
“The visit of the prime minister will contribute to further deepening of the multifaceted Pakistan-Russia bilateral relationship and enhancement of mutual cooperation in diverse fields,” the foreign office has been quoted as saying.
South Block will be watching the space closely.
