Amid Ukraine crisis, Putin meets Pakistan’s Khan to discuss Afghanistan, with an eye on Central Asia

With Ukraine crisis looming, Moscow fears instability in Afghanistan could spill into former Soviet republics and effect Russia’s regional influence

Islamabad is concerned Afghan unrest could inspire Pakistani Islamist fighters, compromising large-scale foreign investments, including by China

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Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (L) and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan pose for a photo in June 2019. Photo: TASS via Getty Images

Published: 6:49pm, 22 Feb 2022Updated: 1:40pm, 9 Mar 2022

Even as the world is focused on the brewing security crisis in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin will host Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan for two days in Moscow beginning Wednesday.

Asked about the timing of the visit in an interview published on Monday, Khan played down any effect it would have on Pakistan’s relations with the West.

“This visit was planned well before the emergence of the current phase of the Ukrainian crisis … I received the invitation from President Putin much earlier,” he told Newsweek Pakistan.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on February 23, 2022 to discuss security in Afghanistan, and Central Asia. SCMP / Mapcreator

High on the agenda for talks is an issue that is also central to Russia’s security – instability in Afghanistan, which borders three of five Central Asian states where Moscow and Beijing are jostling to retain influence.

Putin fears that the growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and an increase in militant attacks originating from the territory could spill into the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan.

Pakistan is also concerned that militancy originating from Afghanistan could fuel the cause of Pakistani Islamist fighters and separatists, which would compromise Islamabad’s bid for more peace and stability for large-scale investment projects, including those by China.

Feroz Khan, a retired brigadier general in the Pakistani Army, argued that Khan’s decision to go ahead with his visit to Russia showed the importance that Islamabad assigned to improving relations with Moscow.

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