When news of Russian Prsident Vladimir Putin’s October visit to Pakistan raised eyebrows all around, a Russian diplomat’s throwaway line over how mistaken one was, and that, in fact, Pakistan and Russia had a lot more in common than everyone thought, seemed more wishful thinking than fact.
That India and Russia could be on opposite sides of the Afghan spectrum, unthinkable some years ago, was reinforced when the still sharp former ISI chief Gen. Asad Durrani was received with much fanfare in Moscow this September, becoming the first Pakistani spymaster to ever visit Russia, let alone speak at the Carnegie Moscow Centre.
looking beyond borders 