WHETHER or not the new defence pact between Russia and Pakistan is the ‘milestone’ described by the defence ministry, it does make eminent sense for the two countries to come closer as the Eurasian landmass and what Moscow calls its ‘near abroad’ undergo geopolitical convulsions.

As in the past, more so now, Afghanistan remains the linchpin of Russia-Pakistan relations as the US prepares to withdraw from the war-ravaged country without having achieved a mission it never seemed very clear about.

Also read: Pakistan, Russia sign landmark defence cooperation agreement

Now watching with concerns the shape of things to come in Afghanistan are not only Pakistan and Russia but also China and India. Questions surround the capability of the new Afghan government. Will it just survive, buffeted like Hamid Karzai’s regime, or will it craft bold and imaginative polices to make a success of the democratic process, attempt to reconcile with the Afghan Taliban and launch Afghanistan’s post-war reconstruction?

With American power in the region in retreat, Russia would like to know where Pakistan stands in post-US Afghanistan — a query Beijing, too, may share, because of its interest in a peaceful Afghanistan whose Wakhan valley borders China’s Xinjiang province.

Clearly then, Islamabad, Beijing and Moscow have a commonality of interest in seeing a stable Afghanistan, with China especially keen to make a major contribution to Afghanistan’s economic development.

Meanwhile, recent aggression at the Line of Control and the Working Boundary as well as the hard-line Modi government taking power in New Delhi last May have only enhanced Pakistan’s fears vis-à-vis India’s involvement in Afghanistan.

Islamabad thus would like to strike a deeper understanding with a Moscow that is mindful of the unmistakable shift in India’s foreign policy and its warmer relationship with Washington.

No doubt aware of its international isolation, Pakistan is keen to broaden and diversify its economic and defence ties with states that have a dominant global role such as Vladimir Putin’s Russia, which has begun to reassert its power, as seen in Crimea and Ukraine.

As evident from Thursday’s agreement, Russia is willing to help Pakistan in a variety of sectors, including economy, technology, defence and international security, besides closely cooperating in crafting a common counterterrorism strategy.

With the focus of the world’s economic and political power shifting from the West to the East, Pakistan has to review some of the basic postulates of its foreign policy, without disrupting its traditional ties with the US and the European Union.

Published in Dawn, November 22th , 2014