MOSCOW/ISLAMABAD — During his visit to Moscow on Thursday Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan advised Russia President Vladimir Putin to avoid military takeover of Ukraine and simply control its fate remotely as the country’s “fifth province”.
Diplomatic sources privy to the Imran-Putin meeting confirm that the Pakistani premier had asked the Russian president to use Ukraine for strategic depth against India.
“I always support negotiations because war is never an option. So I would advise you to provide safe havens to Ukrainian Taliban militia in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and then set up their government,” Imran told Putin.
“This would not only allow you strategic depth against India, you can also use instability of Ukraine to train and operate pro-state jihadist groups and use them to target your rivals. You could then use these jihadist groups to embolden insurgencies across disputed territories,” Imran added.
Retired sources confirm that PM Imran was simply reading out instructions from a paper delivered to him from the GHQ.
While the conversation took place as the Russian invasion of Ukraine was still in its initial stage, diplomatic sources insist the message is now even more relevant after amid a full blown war.
“You could use refugees and humanitarian crisis that you’ve caused to demand Western aid,” reads an official communication delivered from Islamabad to Moscow, The Dependent can confirm.
