PESHAWAR, Oct 24: Speakers at a seminar urged the governments of Pakistan and Russia to remove irritants so that both countries could benefit from trade opportunities in Central Asian States.
The two-day seminar entitled “Identifying the Irritants in Pakistan-Russia Relations & Possible Remedial Measures” has been organized by Hanns Seidel Foundation, Munich, Germany at the Area Study Centre, University of Peshawar on Thursday.
Dr Pervez Iqbal Khan Tareen of the Area Study Centre, in his paper said that in the present circumstances, world relations have been shaped by forces.
He referred to the post-Sept 11 scenario which had brought the bitter foes closer. The Second World War devastated the world and many military pacts and alliances came to the fore followed by the nerve-racking Cold War between Russia and the US.
The war on terrorism had also brought the Russians and the Americans closer, because the former also accused the Taliban of sending fighters to Chechnya.
Dr Tareen said that the 9/11 events also exposed the vulnerability of the US which is economically unchallengeable. The incident, he said, enabled the US to materialize its dream of reaching the oil fields in the CASs. He said Pakistan and Russia were main partners of the US’s war on terrorism in Afghanistan. Russia never objected to the presence of US forces in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan which are located near its border. He said Russia also wanted to get concessions from the World Bank, IMF and become a member of the World Trade Organization.
Another speaker, Col Mohammad Yahya Offendi, on the occasion said that Pakistan and Russia never enjoyed cordial relations because the latter always accused the former of supporting terrorism. Pakistan remained a close ally of the US and Europe against Russia in the Cold War which compelled Russia to tilt towards India. In the 1965 and 1971 Pakistan-India wars, Russia openly supplied arms and other assistance to India which further enraged Pakistan.
He also dwelt at length on the relations between Pakistan and Russia in the historical perspective and said that Pakistan’s first prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan preferred to visit the US despite having received an invitation to visit Russia.
Mr Offendi said that Pakistan also threw it full weight behind the US during the Afghan war which also forced Russia to establish best relations with Pakistan’s arch enemy, India, and the Russian military assistance to India continued unabated.
A Russian economist, Ury Mkozlov, said that lately Pakistan and Russia had entered into a trade agreement during President Musharraf’s visit to Moscow where he met President Putin.
He said Russia had also established a steel mill in Karachi which produced three million tones of steel annually.
Other speakers included Dr Artium, Nasser Ali Khan, and Dr Amera Saeed. All speakers fell short of describing the current irritants in the relations between the two country. Most of the them confined themselves to the historical perspective and there was no suggestion as to how relations between the two could be improved.