Pakistan has been urged by various foreign missions in Pakistan to sign a ceasefire resolution against Russia in the UN General Assembly. These missions include Germany and France.
For the past day, the UN General Assembly has been holding an emergency meeting on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The meeting will conclude on March 1, during which a resolution will be passed.
The resolution calls on 193 member states to urge Russia to cease fighting with its neighbor Ukraine. In this regard, diplomats from 19 foreign missions in Pakistan on Tuesday wrote a letter urging Pakistan to support Ukraine in the UN General Assembly.
However, there are credible reports from Pakistan's diplomatic circles that Pakistan has preferred not to be a part of this meeting and to take a neutral position on Russia's dispute with Ukraine.
At least two senior government officials have told the BBC that Pakistan wants to support or oppose anyone, taking a principled stand. Top government officials say Russia and Ukraine should resolve their differences amicably.
Many people are welcoming Pakistan's decision that unlike in the past, Pakistan is not becoming part of any 'political faction' but is urging to resolve issues through understanding.
It is a shocking act on the part of Pakistan to do so because before that Pakistan sided with the political factions in the region while the direct effect of their support came in the form of insurgency in Pakistan's economy and country. As a result, Pakistan at one time or another was in danger of being isolated internationally.
From Factional Politics To 'Neutral'
Now the question arises why Pakistan is neutral on the issue of Ukraine and Russia.
Speaking on the occasion, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, said that the conflict between Ukraine and Russia is part of the Cold War in Europe which is going on in Ukraine.
"Pakistan has no direct interest in this war. Secondly, Pakistan wants to play its part in the region in which Pakistan also has relations with Russia, China and Central Asia. And third, Pakistan no longer wants to be part of any tension. He does not want to support or oppose anyone.
If we go back a little, just a few months before the Afghan Taliban took over Kabul in 2021, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan made it clear in several statements that Pakistan would not be part of any civil war in Afghanistan. While Pakistan has been accused of using Afghanistan as a 'strategic backyard' in the 1990s, recent statements suggest that Pakistan now wants to stay away from such titles.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan has repeatedly accused the United States of using Pakistan only for war and keeping an eye on India after all aid.
If we go back a little, just a few months before the Afghan Taliban took over Kabul in 2021, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan made it clear in several statements that Pakistan would not be part of any civil war in Afghanistan. While Pakistan has been accused of using Afghanistan as a 'strategic backyard' in the 1990s, recent statements suggest that Pakistan now wants to stay away from such titles.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan has repeatedly accused the United States of using Pakistan only for war and keeping an eye on India after all aid.
Ukraine shares borders with both the European Union and Russia. As part of the former Soviet Union, it has strong cultural and social ties with Russia, and the Russian language is widely spoken here. But relations between the two countries have been strained since Russia invaded the region in 2014.
President Putin has claimed that Ukraine is a puppet of the West and has never been a formal country.
Russia has been urging Western nations to guarantee that Ukraine will not join NATO.
Why is Ukraine Russia's Target?
Russia has long opposed Ukraine's accession to European institutions, including the US-led 30-nation military alliance NATO and the European Union.
Ukraine shares borders with both the European Union and Russia. As part of the former Soviet Union, it has strong cultural and social ties with Russia, and the Russian language is widely spoken here. But relations between the two countries have been strained since Russia invaded the region in 2014.
President Putin has claimed that Ukraine is a puppet of the West and has never been a formal country.
Russia has been urging Western nations to guarantee that Ukraine will not join NATO.
'Being Part of Cold War is No Longer in Pakistan's Interest'
Unlike in the past decades, Pakistan's thinking has changed significantly and according to credible reports from diplomatic circles, Pakistan does not want to be part of any faction. In this regard, Prime Minister Imran Khan, while addressing the nation on February 28, defended his visit to Russia on February 24, saying, "I went there to improve bilateral relations."
The prime minister has not commented on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Mushahid Hussain said that at present Pakistan's interests are in the region. And this region means South Asia, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Iran, China and Russia.
"We also want to enhance relations with these countries and these interests are related to regional peace and stability, security and development," he said. It is no longer in Pakistan's interest to be part of the Cold War.
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