ISLAMABAD: Timing of Prime minister Imran Khan’s visit to Russia has initiated new debate in Pakistan. The local media is questioning the decision-makers as to what tempted them to recommend prime minister Imran Khan to go ahead with his scheduled visit to Russia when the chances of war between Russia and Ukraine were increasijg.
The political analysts and experts in international relations do believe that the prime minister’s visit to Russia was ill-timed and it should have been rescheduled.
Qamar Cheema. an expert in international relations , believes that the prime minister’s visit to Russia was totally ill-timed and it should have been rescheduled for some normal situation.
“I do no”t think, the prime minister’s visit to Russia was of any use amidst Russian growing tension with Ukraine”, Mr Cheema argued while reacting to the Foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s press talk wherein he justified the prime minister’s visit to Moscow in the war times.
Prime minister, Imran Khan, had visited Russia between February 23 and 24, 2022. Pakistan’s Foreign Office had dubbed the prime minister’s visit to Russia as historic.
Foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who was accompanying the prime minister for visit to Russia told a press conference held in Islamabad that the decision of going ahead with the prime minister ‘s visit to Russia was totally correct. He said the purpose of the visit was to seek the Russia’s collaboration in many areas of economy.
Russia has strong footholds in our region and its collaboration would help Pakistan most fast to get economic benefits .
Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s argument is n defence of the prime minister’s visit was self explanatory . He could not point out any emergency which led the Pakistan’s Foreign policy makers to go ahead with original plan to visit Moscow amidst its rising tension with Ukraine.
Local media both print and electronic and the opposition is critical of the prime minister’s decision to visit Russia when it was on the brink of the war with Ukraine.