By Abid Ali Narejo
Pakistan is kind of like a bridge between the Middle East and the rest of Asia. It is the only nation in the world known to have been established on the basis of religion alone. Pakistan is located in South Asia surrounded by Iran, Afghanistan, China, and India with the Arabian sea and the Gulf of Oman in the South.
Economic and Military Ties Between Ukraine and Pakistan in the Backdrop of Ukrainian Support to India
It is the world’s fifth most populous country with a population of almost 242 million and has the world’s second-largest Muslim population, Pakistan is the 33rd largest country by area spanning 881,913 square kilometers (340,509 square miles). Pakistan is a Middle power nation and has the world’s sixth-largest standing armed forces. It is a declared Nuclear weapon state and is ranked amongst the emerging and growth-leading economies. Since 1947 the country continues to face challenges including terrorism, illiteracy, corruption, and poverty. Pakistan is a member of the United Nation and is designated as a major non-Natto ally by the United States.
Pakistan and Ukraine recognized two-pronged relations on 16th March 1992. At the present, there are a number of trade and economic cooperation agreements between Pakistan and Ukraine. Ukrainian Ambassador in Pakistan has described the relations between Pakistan and Ukraine as ‘dynamic, with collaborations taking place in political, legal, military-technical, economic and humanitarian domains.
There is a multitude of opportunities for joint ventures between Pakistan and Ukraine. The range of possible collaboration goes from the depths of the sea to the extent of space. Pakistan has an embassy in the capital of Ukraine “Kyiv” and Ukraine has an embassy in the Capital of Pakistan “Islamabad” and a consular office in Karachi and Lahore. Ukraine and Pakistan cooperate in the field of education and cultural exchanges. Pakistan and Ukraine also cooperate extensively in the fields of aerospace engineering, aerospace technology, biomedical sciences, and science and technology. In the defense sector, Islamabad and Kyiv maintain pragmatic trade relations and shower each other with compliments.
Economic and Military Ties Between Ukraine and Pakistan:
Historically, at the time of the dissolution of the Soviet Union when Ukraine became an independent nation, Pakistan and Ukraine had a steady relationship based on bilateral trade. The main reason for the bilateral diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Ukraine includes economic, trade, military, technology, and infrastructure projects. For economic and military ties, Pakistan and Ukraine have had a diplomatic relationship, after the 1990s, Ukraine sold 320 Ukrainian T-80UD main battle tanks to Pakistan in a deal worth US$650 million. According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) databases, between 1991 and 2020, Ukraine completed arms contracts with Pakistan totaling nearly $1.6 billion.
During this period, Pakistan was described as Ukraine’s biggest arms buyer, next to Russia, China, India, and Thailand. There was an agreement signed by Pakistan with Ukraine for the purchase of four II-78 refueling aircraft equipped with UPAZ refueling modules of Russian design in December 2008. All purchased aircraft were delivered by 2012. Pakistan plays a supportive role through humanitarian aid in order to help the people of Ukraine affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Pakistani 122mm howitzer projectiles were purchased by the United Kingdom, and later on, were supplied to Ukraine.
These near-daily flights have led some observers to conclude that the UK has established an air bridge between Romania and Pakistan so that 122mm artillery ammunition produced by the Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) can be sent to Ukraine. On 30 August it was confirmed with evidence via social media that the Ukrainian military has successfully received Pakistani 122mm rounds.
Ambassador of Ukraine to Pakistan, Mr. Volodymyr Lakomov, said that his country is willing to play an effective role in Pakistan’s development progress and welcomes any efforts to find new approaches to cooperation and expansion of ties with Pakistan in various sectors during a seminar organized jointly by the department of history, Quaid-i-Azam University, and diplomatic insight. This seminar was organized to emphasize Pakistan and Ukraine’s relationship.
On the other hand, India and Russia tend to treat Pakistan and Ukraine as artificial constructs that arose as a fluke of political circumstances, with no apparent long-term prospects. There is a territorial conflict both India- Pakistan and Ukraine -Russia. Pakistan and India both have the same language and the same cultural traditions, history, and customs.
In most cases, they really are family but when it comes to nationhood and worldview that dictionary makes a clear boundary that splits one side from the other. The actual reason for the conflict is Kashmir and its resources. On the other hand, if we talk about Russia and Ukraine, the tension between Russia and Ukraine is primarily because of two reasons:
- Ukraine is a matter of strategic importance to Russia.
- There is also a territorial conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
If you look at the size of Ukraine, it is a big country that lies between the European Union and Russia. Ukraine was once a part of the Soviet Union after 1991 Ukraine became a separate country and declared itself an independent country on 24th August 1991. It has deep social and cultural ties with Russia and Russian languages are lightly spoken there, especially on the Eastern side of Ukraine. The Eastern Ukrainian region’s border is with Russia.
It has more Russian-speaking people and that is very natural, one more thing is very common in their border areas of Russia and Ukraine, that there will be groups who are both political as well as armed. They will have their own political interests, which means the raw political groups as well as armed groups in Eastern Ukraine were pro-Russian. Naturally, when Politics is involved definitely Russia will have secured its own political interest.
