Pakistan

Background

Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia with Islamabad as its capital and Karachi as its largest city and financial centre. It is the world’s fifth-most populous country and the 33rd-largest by area, with a population of more than 241.5 million and the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. Its territory borders India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest, and China to the northeast, while its southern coastline lies along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman.

In international affairs, Pakistan is regarded as a middle power with significant military and diplomatic weight. It has the world’s seventh-largest standing armed forces and is a declared nuclear-weapons state, making it an important security actor in South Asia and beyond. The country is also an emerging economy with a large and growing middle class, and it participates in major multilateral organizations including the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. In relations with Russia, Pakistan remains a regular point of engagement on regional security and foreign policy issues, including discussions involving Afghanistan, Iran, and counter-narcotics cooperation.

The area that now forms Pakistan has been home to ancient civilizations including Mehrgarh, the Indus Valley Civilisation, and Gandhara, and later came under a succession of imperial and dynastic rule before becoming part of the British Raj in 1858. Pakistan emerged in 1947 from the partition of British India following the Pakistan Movement, initially as a dominion of the British Commonwealth, and adopted a republican constitution in 1956. The eastern wing later seceded in 1971 as Bangladesh after a civil war, and since independence the country has experienced alternating civilian and military rule alongside periods of both political and economic instability. Recent references in Russian official statements show continued diplomatic contact, including meetings between Russian officials and Pakistan’s ambassador to Moscow.

Timeline

1. Mar 11, 2026

   Russia discussed the Iran crisis with Pakistan through a meeting between Deputy Foreign Minister A.Yu. Rudenko and Pakistan’s Ambassador F.N. Tirmizi.

   On the Meeting Between Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia A.Yu. Rudenko and the Ambassador of Pakistan to Moscow F.N. Tirmizi