PM IMRAN IS THE FIRST LEADER TO MEET PRESIDENT PUTIN AFTER MOSCOW ATTACKED UKRAINE

Thu 24 February 2022:

PM Imran Khan arrived in Moscow yesterday on a two-day trip when tensions between Kyiv and Moscow were rising but Putin had not ordered a military attack on Ukraine.

Khan was given a guard of honour on his arrival in Moscow. On his arrival to Moscow, Khan said:

The opposition and experts raised concerns over the visit of Imran Khan, describing it as “ill-timed”. Michael Kugelman of the Wilson Center in the US said:

There is a risk that Khan’s visit to Moscow will be perceived by many in the West as an indirect endorsement of Putin’s decree on eastern Ukraine-a move that much of the world has condemned and that Pakistan itself likely does not support.

Even though Khan’s visit was planned weeks ago and focuses on bilateral relations, the timing will raise eyebrows and present some problems of optics.

Khan was in Moscow when Kyiv witnessed military attacks. Indian media, such as the Hindu and a few more media networks shared fake news that PM Imran had ended his two-day visit to Moscow after the attack on Kyiv. Pakistan denied the news.

Adil Shahzeb, a Pakistani journalist tweeted from Moscow that both Russian and Pakistani officials have denied reports that Khan has ended the visit.

There is no cancellation of the visit, PM Khan will be meeting President Putin as per schedule. Khan’s planned interaction with the media has been cancelled.

Pakistan and the US do not enjoy cordial relations and the US blames Pakistan for its dubious role in Afghanistan.

Husain Haqqani, former ambassador to the US and a scholar, told The Guardian:

Imran Khan has consistently signalled his derision for the US and the west while also seeking economic assistance. The timing of his visit to Russia will only reaffirm his anti-Western worldview.

The image of Pakistan’s prime minister next to Vladimir Putin soon after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine will not endear Pakistan to Americans or western Europeans.

writes Shah Meer Baloch in Islamabad.

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