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The Russian empire has had interactions with the Ottomans and Mughals. Peter the Great and the Mughals cooperated in trade and warfare methodology.Russia with a population one tenth of that of South Asia was at a definite disadvantage.  However there were definite contacts, specially because Babur was Fberghana and Samarqand. Humayun of course had closer relations with Iran.

A world that is accustomed to multidirectional flows of information through the means of capacious strands of fiber optics and satellites might not realize the intricacy and complexity of the networks of communications between Central Asia and [the] Mughal[s] [] in the 16th and 17th centuries, based as they were on human relations, patronage, familial ties, and so on. This pioneering study by Richard Foltz fulfills a long-felt need to focus attention on these two important regions of the Islamic world and to draw attention to the interaction between them..

The symbiotic relationship of the Indus to the Oxus, the Hindu Kush to Dushambe, Lhaore to Farghana transcends bonds of religion, language and ethnicity.

Richard Foltz’s thesis in this book is that the Mughals had, since the time of Babur, longed to return to their Central Asian roots. He points out the various places in many historical documents where the (usually sentimental) nostalgia for Central Asia is evident. The documents cited in this book come from many sources: the Mughals themselves and also by the many Central Asian holy men, artisans, soldiers and artists who used to travel to India for financial gain.

After the Uzbek takeover of their ancestral homes including the prominent Chaghatai cities like Samarqand, the Mughals expanded into North India and rule this land as their new home.

Richard Foltz makes the case that the Mughals always intended to return to their homelands in Central Asia and were repeatedly unable to do so due to many problematic circumstances. He catalogs the active cultural and political traffic that existed between the Mughals, the Safavids who inhabited modern-day Iran and Afghanistan and the Uzbeks in modern-day Uzbekistan. Mughal India and Central Asia by Richard C. Foltz

Moscow’s relations with the British Empire entailed a Polka which created a lot of tension between the Russians and the Britishers. Their paths crossed on the Amu Darya (fka the Oxus). Pakistan as a successor state of the Northwest portion of the British empire came into contact with the Russians in a round about way. A thin strip of Afghan land separated Pakistan from the USSR. So the borders never actually touched.

According to Peter Hopkirk in his seminal book title “The Great Game” Catherine the Great bequeathed a will which asked her progeny to take the Russian forces to the warm waters of the Arabian sea. In pursuit of this Russian aim Tsarist Russia and then the USSR pursued policies to first take over the Muslim republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The Grand Bargain? Pakistan key to Afghan Great Game Tough lessons in geography

In a phrase coined by Captain Arthur Connolly of the East India Company before he was beheaded in Bokhara for spying in 1842, a “Great Game” was played between Tsarist Russia and Victorian England for supremacy in Central Asia. At stake was the security of India, key to the wealth of the British Empire. When play began early in the 19th century, the frontiers of the two imperial powers lay two thousand miles apart, across vast deserts and almost impassable mountain ranges; by the end, only 20miles separated the two rivals.

Peter Hopkirk, a former reporter for The Times of London with wide experience of the region, tells an extraordinary story of ambition, intrigue, and military adventure. His sensational narrative moves at breakneck pace, yet even as he paints his colorful characters–tribal chieftains, generals, spies, Queen Victoria herself–he skillfully provides a clear overview of the geographical and diplomatic framework. The Great Game was Russia’s version of America’s “Manifest Destiny” to dominate a continent, and Hopkirkis careful to explain Russian viewpoints as fully as those of the British. The story ends with the fall of Tsarist Russia in 1917, but the demise of the Soviet Empire (hastened by a decade of bloody fighting in Afghanistan) gives it new relevance, as world peace and stability are again threatened by tensions in this volatile region of great mineral wealth and strategic significance. –John Stevenson

Graveyard of Empires: AfPak-TurkTaj-UzbKaz-AzKyr -istan. The current international climate create great opportunities for neighbors to cooperate. End of US Exceptionalism & Crisis of Profilgacy: An exit strategy defines the limits of US power in the Hindukush

Pakistani Russian relations have seen their ups and down over the vicissitudes of time. There is an urban myth that Liaqat Ali Khan tilted Pakistan towards the US. An overwhelming body of evidence and recently declassified American embassy documents refute that urban myth which is very prevalent in the certain circles in Pakistan. Why was Liaqat Ali Khan assassinated? Who murdered Shaheed e Millat? A forgotten Pakistani hero…Recent declassified documents point to a CIA involvement? The declassified US embassy documents are posted on this site and also on http://www.pakhistorian.com.  In fact the documents bring to light a few facts that are mind boggling.

1. LiaqatAli Khan had arranged a confederation with Afghanistan which was approved by King Zahir Shah. Zahir Shah would be titular head of the confederated state.
2. Liaqat Ali Khan had refused the American plan to invade Iran and paid the consequences for his independent foreign policy.
3. Liaqat Ali Khan was assassinated because of his refusal to kowtow to American pressures.

It was actually Field Marshall Mohammad Ayub Khan that took Pakistan into the American orbit. In fact he was nurtured and brought into the picture because of American backing. Pakistan then joined SEATO and CENTO. The Americans were given a base in Badabare, near Peshawar. It was from here that the U2s used to take off and spy over the USSR. Of course American selective amnesia remembers none of this and their former SEATO and CENTO ally and current MNNA (major non-NATO ally) has remained the most abused friend in the world. 

In 1971 the USSR fully backed Bharat and signed a defense pact which allowed it to ship arms and equipment to Delhi. Pakistan remained under US sanctions after the 1965 war ostensibly for using the F-104s and F-86 Sabres against Bharat.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto mended some of the relations and Russia set up a Steel Mill which has become one of the most important strategic assets that Pakistan possesses.

During the 80s, Pakistan fully opposed the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. More than 52 countries supported Pakistan in that battle.

Now the world situation has changed. Delhi is no longer a Russian acolyte. In fact Delhi has moved closer to Washington. China and Russia are cooperating to the hilt and Japan is neutral (and somewhat pro-American).

President Musharraf started a dialogue with President Putin. As a result the Russian foreign Minister visited Islamabad. President Zardariis now pursuing the relationship with Russia. Moscow has responded to the positive vibes coming out of Islamabad.

DUSHANBE: The leaders of Russia, Afghanistan and Pakistan are scheduled to meet in the Tajikcapital Dushanbe later this month in an effort to boost regional cooperation, the Tajik authorities said on Tuesday.

Dmitry Medvedev of Russia, Emomali Rakhmon of Tajikistan, Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan and Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan are scheduled to meet on July 29 and 30 ‘for discussions of closer economic cooperation,’ said a Tajik foreign ministry spokesman.

‘Preparations for the meeting of the leaders are under way. The meeting’s main theme is cooperation in energy, communications and transportation,’ said the spokesman Davlat Nazriyev, adding that regional security might also be discussed.

The get-together would come on the heels of a three-party meeting between Medvedev, Karzai and Zardari last month in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, where the men pledged to join efforts in the fight against terror and expand economic cooperation. AFP

The current meeting in Dushambe has huge potential, and great possibilities. It brings Russia, Tajikistan, Afghanistan closer. The economic bonds created will survive Mr. Zardari and Mr. Karzai. In a multi-polar world, Russia and China will be huge players. Islambad is wise to build good relations with all four major.

The Singh Doctrine for Akhand Bharat Fails

Intoxicated India, deaf and blind to internal schisms–unable to instrospect & resolve its huge race, caste, religious problems. Relations with Bharat might as well be placed in cold storage, because there is no sign of any improvement there. Bharat continues to hold good relations with Pakistan as a reward for some sort of good behaviour as defined by Delhi. Good behaviour in Delhi’s eyes is “subservience to Delhi” and acceptance of all of her demands. It is amazing that Delhi continues to provide succour to the terrorists in Swat and FATA and screams bloody murder on Kashmir and Mumbai. The idea of becoming subservient to India is abhorrent and that of cooperation with India with object of promoting tension with China equally repugnant. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto

India’s Security concerns

Russia and Tajikistan have traditionally had strong ties since the fall of the Soviet Union and the Kremlin has also been keen to increase its role as a mediator in the region.

Medvedev will travel to Tajikistan to launch the Sangtuda-1 hydro plant, controlled and operated by Russia, while Zardari was scheduled to arrive in Dushanbe on an official visit on the eve of the four-party meeting.

‘Tajikistan boasts rich hydro energy resources and during the meeting the leaders will pay special attention to the Central Asia South Asia electricity transmission project,’ said Nazriyev.

The multimillion dollar project aims to supply surplus power from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Afghanistan and Pakistan.—AFP

The growing Pakistani Russia relationship bodes well for the region. Energy links to Pakistan will help alleviate the electricity crisis created because of rapid economic growth and prosperity of the past decade.

Unite! Erase the Durand Line Solution: Fixing “AfPak” expedites the inevitable union between Pakistan & Afghanistan The emerging “Leave Pakistan to Afghanistan” strategy goes mainstream–Extricating the US from the Lost in the Khyber