Should New Delhi be wary of Russia's growing bonhomie with Pakistan?

Russia and Pakistan are working closely to start direct flights between the two countries. The newly appointed Pakistani Ambassador to RussiaMuhammad Khalid Jamal in a statement to Russian news agency TASS conveyed that the two nations were actively engaged in efforts to close out the deal.

Jamalemphasised the importance of direct flights to foster close people-to-people contact, whilst adding that Pakistan remains a safe country for the inflow of tourists.

“Both sides are in touch with each other and are working out on the modalities for direct flights. People-to-people contacts between the two countries are very important," said the envoy.

“Pakistan is a safe country, and successive governments have done their best to promote tourism in Pakistan. We need to keep working on it. And only then will we be able to attract tourists from abroad,” he added.

Additionally,Jamal disclosed that Islamabad had submitted an application to join the BRICS and was counting on Moscow's effort to become a memberas early as 2024.

Increasing Russia-Pakistan bonhomie

The development might cause New Delhi to sit up and take notice. In recent years, Pakistan has been actively attempting to forge a meaningful bilateral relationship with Russia.

Earlier this year, Pakistan announced it was ordering discounted crude oil from the Russians. In June, the first shipment of 45,000 bpd of the 100,000 bpd crude oil arrived in Pakistan’s cash-strapped port city of Karachi.

The opening of the crude oil route is expected tosignificantly reduce Pakistan's dependence on fuel from the Middle East. Currently,Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the main suppliers of crude to Islamabad.

Leaving behind the Cold War hostilities, both sides are steadily expanding their relationship.In 2020, Islamabad finally paid an amount of $93.5 million to Russia to settle a longstanding trade dispute. The payment was made against the Russian exporters' claims pending since the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

Notably,Russia used to have a strict embargo on weapon sales to Pakistan. But it was lifted in 2014,paving the way for Russian weapons to fall into the hands of the Pakistani army.

For decades, India and Russia have been two of the closest allies on the world stage. However, Moscow's increasing bonhomie with India's arch-rival may not go down well with New Delhi.

Islamabad already acts as a proxy ofChina and with Russian President Vladimir Putin forging a new dynamic with Xi Jinping in recent months, the Indian government may have to put up its guard.

(With inputs from agencies)