Putin and Shehbaz Sharif meet: ‘The biggest threat to India is the coming together of Pakistan, Russia and China’

  

 

Putin and Shehbaz Sharif meet: ‘The biggest threat to India is the coming together of Pakistan, Russia and China’

When Soviet Communist Party Secretary Nikita S. Khrushchev visited Srinagar in 1955 at the invitation of the then Crown Prince of Kashmir, Karan Singh, he said that Pakistan had asked him and Soviet Premier Nikolai Bogdanyan not to visit Kashmir.

Nikita Khrushchev said that the Pakistani Foreign Ministry had told the Soviet ambassador in Karachi that Nikita and Nikolai should not accept Karan Singh's invitation.

On Pakistan's request, Nikita Khrushchev said, "This is a malicious act, Pakistan is taking too much responsibility on its shoulders. This is Pakistan's interference in the internal affairs of another country. In the past, no country had the courage to tell us what to do and who to be friends with. We have very good relations with India."

During this visit, Khrushchev also spoke in detail about the Kashmir dispute. Khrushchev said about Kashmir that he does not want to name the countries that are interested in raising the Kashmir issue because it is a very well-known issue. Khrushchev had said that ‘those who are stirring up the Kashmir issue are sowing the seeds of hatred between the two countries.’

He had said that ‘many countries feel that Kashmir is Muslim-majority, so it should go with Pakistan. The Kashmiri people have decided to stay with India. The Kashmiri people do not want to be a toy in the hands of imperialist powers.’

Khrushchev’s anger at Pakistan

During this visit, Khrushchev also criticized the partition of India and said that the partition was not due to religion but because of a third country that was following the policy of ‘divide and rule’.

Khrushchev had also criticized Pakistan’s closeness to the United States. Pakistan had then joined the Baghdad Pact and Khrushchev did not like this. He had called the Baghdad Pact anti-Soviet.

In 1955, Turkey, Iraq, Britain, Pakistan and Iran formed the ‘Baghdad Pact’. The Baghdad Pact was then called a defense organization. The five countries involved in it talked about achieving their common political, military and economic goals. It was established on the lines of NATO.

During his visit to Srinagar, Nikita Khrushchev had told India that ‘We are very close to you, even if you call us from the top of a mountain, we will be by your side.’ But now neither the Soviet Union exists nor is it 1955. Despite the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia’s position on Kashmir has not changed, but Russia’s position on Pakistan is no longer the same as Khrushchev’s.

Pakistan’s desire and Russia’s consent

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met on Tuesday as Prime Minister Modi returned from China. In this meeting, Putin told Shehbaz Sharif that Pakistan is still a traditional partner of Russia.

Shehbaz Sharif told Putin that he ‘respects the relations between India and Russia, but Pakistan also wants to build strong relations with Russia.’ When Shehbaz Sharif was saying this, President Putin was nodding in the affirmative.

A press release issued by the Foreign Office of Pakistan said that during the meeting of the two leaders, President Putin expressed sorrow over the losses caused by the recent floods and other natural disasters in Pakistan and said that ‘under the leadership of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan will overcome these challenges.’

The Foreign Office said that President Putin has also invited Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to attend the SCO meeting to be held in Russia in November.

While Shahbaz Sharif wrote on X after the meeting, “Pakistan and Russia are moving towards strengthening relations together so that the interests of our people as well as peace and prosperity in the region can be promoted.”

Defence expert and analyst Praveen Sahani wrote on X regarding the meeting, “For India’s development, it would be better to understand that the centre of power in the new world order has now shifted to the Global South.”

“In this scenario, India will have to cooperate with Pakistan, China, Russia, Iran and other countries for its own and the collective development of the Global South.”

“It seems that Pakistan has understood this and is ready to work with India,” he further writes.

“Indian user Mahat Chauhan posted a video on X in which Shahbaz Sharif, along with President Xi, Putin and Kim Jong Un, shake hands with former Chinese soldiers.

He wrote, “Now Pakistan is standing on the front stage with Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un.” He also wrote, “This is the result of Narendra Modi’s disastrous foreign policy.”

Mehat wrote, “India urgently needs an educated Prime Minister who understands the global situation and can lead properly.”

Pakistani journalist Asma Shirazi also posted the same video and wrote, “What a powerful scene... Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is among the special guests who have been invited to the Victory Day ceremony, others include President Putin and North Korean President Kim. Prime Minister Modi was not invited to this ceremony.”

Indian Dr. Nimmo Yadav commented on X, “Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is sharing the front stage with Putin, Xi and Kim. Pakistan is also close to the US. I can’t believe these countries are prioritizing Pakistan over India.”

He further wrote, “Modi made a big mistake by accepting a ceasefire with Pakistan.”

Tanvi Madan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank, posted a video clip of a conversation between Shehbaz Sharif and Putin on X and wrote, “Memes have their place, but the real world is different.”

“Where Putin is playing a balanced role on many fronts at the same time, in a meeting with the Pakistani prime minister, he says that he values ​​the relations between Russia and Pakistan and talks about making them more ‘strong and dynamic.’”

“This is nothing new. After Pahalgam, Russia’s position was out of sight for most people because of Trump.”

Tanvi Madan believes that Russia disappointed India after the attack in Pahalgam, but no one paid attention to it.

Alexei Zakharov, an expert on India-Russia relations at the think tank ORF, wrote about the meeting between Shehbaz Sharif and Putin on X. “After Modi left for China, Putin and Shehbaz Sharif discussed the bilateral agenda.”

“Putin described Pakistan as a traditional partner, talked about increasing trade and cooperation in the UN Security Council, and also invited Prime Minister Sharif to visit Moscow.”

In the meeting, Prime Minister Sharif told Putin that the increase in bilateral trade last year was due to oil imports from Russia. He also pointed out that there were several exchanges of delegations on both sides, as well as new agreements in agriculture, steel and transport, especially the Belarus-Pakistan corridor.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Putin for supporting Pakistan and playing a balanced role in South Asia.

On this occasion, Shehbaz Sharif said: “We respect your relations with India, this is absolutely true, but we also want to establish very strong relations with Russia.

Putin has never been to Pakistan

The US is not happy with India's friendship with Russia. But India has refused to bow to US demands. Many analysts believe that if the US puts pressure on India to break its friendship with Russia, it will only strengthen Putin's hands.

When the US threatened to increase tariffs against India, Indrani Bagchi, CEO of the think tank Ananta Center, wrote, "This is very dangerous. The West believes that India is special to Russia, so punish India to please Putin. Putin does not back down from his interests and he does not care if India is suffering any harm. In such a situation, only India will suffer."

Furthering Indrani Bagchi's statement, Tanvi Madan wrote, "If Trump puts pressure on India, Putin will benefit. If India-US relations deteriorate, India will demand strengthening relations with Russia. In such a situation, India will seem more ready to make a deal with China.’

According to Tanvi Madan, ‘Some people in India are thinking that we will go back to strategic autonomy or be closer to China. But I don’t think Trump thinks that way about India. At the moment, Trump does not give much importance to the competition with China.’

Nevertheless, Dr. Rajan Kumar believes that Putin understands India’s concerns about Pakistan. To confirm this, it can be said that Putin has been in power in Russia for the last 25 years and he has not visited Pakistan till date.

No Russian president has visited Pakistan till now. Even when the Soviet Union was in existence, no president visited Pakistan. 16 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov visited Pakistan on April 11, 2007.

India is the only country in South Asia that Putin visits. On March 17, 2016, the then Russian Ambassador to Pakistan Alexei Dedov, while speaking on Pakistan-Russia relations at the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad, said, “The visit should not be just formal, there should be a strong reason for the visit. If there is a strong reason, the visit will definitely happen. Therefore, preparations and agreements are necessary.”