PM Imran Khan's visit to Russia may increase problems in Pakistan; Pak

Islamabad: – The frantic efforts made by Pakistan Prime Minister to visit Russia have paid off. Prime Minister Imran Khan is embarking on a visit to Russia on Wednesday. Russia is not enthusiastic to welcome the Pakistan Prime Minister, with the high-tension reigning on the Ukraine border. Pakistani journalists claimed that China used its weight and the Pakistan Prime Minister got the opportunity to visit Russia. According to these journalists, Pakistan will not benefit from this visit and this visit could instead prove detrimental to Pakistani interests.

After taking over as the President of the United States, Joe Biden held discussions with major leaders worldwide. Pakistan Prime Minister did not feature on this list. This hurt Imran Khan very badly. Opponents also are retorting that Imran Khan does not have any value on the international level, mentioning this repeatedly. Thus, the leaders of other countries are also not visiting Pakistan, said the media. To counter all these allegations, Prime Minister Imran Khan started frantic efforts to visit Russia and meet President Vladimir Putin.

Russia initially did not respond but consented to the Imran Khan visit due to Chinese insistence. Prime Minister Imran Khan can click photographs with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the visit to show the world, but what will Pakistan achieve? Pakistani journalists have raised this question. Under any circumstances, Russia will not set the cooperation with India aside to cooperate with Pakistan. There is no possibility of Russia supporting Pakistan in any way over Kashmir. The Pakistani journalists point out that Russia is unwilling to trust Pakistan’s foreign policy.

Russia tried to establish cooperation with Pakistan for security-related issues after the Taliban took over Afghanistan. But Russia dropped the efforts after realising that Pakistan could not be trusted. In this scenario, Imran Khan’s effort to visit Russia could boomerang. The visit of the Pakistan Prime Minister to Russia when the United States is spewing fire on Russia over the Ukraine issue can become another reason for the displeasure of the United States. Pakistan may be made to pay a heavy price for this in the coming times. Therefore, the media from the country are expressing an opinion that Pakistan will suffer only losses instead of benefitting from the Russia visit.