Imran Khan’s support for Russia is rooted in his antagonism towards the West, however, with the Pakistan army unwilling to alienate the West and the US, the premier will have to play a very delicate balancing act between the two sides to win the elections in the country, according to a media report.
Notably, Imran Khan visited Russia in February despite being asked by the Western states to reconsider his trip and later rejected their message to call out Moscow in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict asking if they considered Pakistan their “slave”, however, the Pakistan army condemning Russia’s aggression in Ukraine came as a blow to Khan’s government, reported a UK-based media outlet.
Pakistan has accused the West of “double standards” in its reaction to the Ukraine conflict citing the catastrophic wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with the underlying narrative of the West standing up for “white Ukrainians” and not for other victims of conflict, purely because of their ethnicity. The narrative has also been incorporated into Imran Khan’s populist rhetoric.
However, the Pakistan army undid Khan’s efforts of friendship with Russia as Army chief General Qamar Bajwa unequivocally condemned Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, satisfying the Western states pressing Islamabad to condemn the invasion.Referring to free speech laws allowing satire against Islam, Imran Khan has been consistent in saying that there’s an ongoing “genocide” of Muslims in the West, clearly demonstrating his desire to suppress this freedom by exporting murderous Islamic blasphemy laws, reported the UK-based media outlet.
However, he has been quiet on Russia’s own anti-Muslim policies or even China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims because like Pakistan’s subservience to China, Khan’s shift towards China is rooted in economic and geopolitical gains rather than ideological affinity.
However, according to the media outlet, the condemnation of satire against Islam is likely to allow Russian President Vladimir Putin space to push his nationalist, autocratic, agenda in the Muslim-majority areas such as Tatarstan where he is unlikely to face any resistance over the war in Ukraine because much of the narrative here is likely to remain on wars elsewhere, not perpetuated by Moscow.Meanwhile, with the Pakistan army going against Imran Khan’s pro-Russia approach, the premier will have to be careful regarding his anti-West rhetoric to retain power in the country.