Military dictatorships (1958-1971) Pakistan–Russia relations

1 military dictatorships (1958-1971)

1.1 relations west , east pakistan
1.2 role in indo-pakistani war of 1971
1.3 democratic government (1971-1977)
1.4 military dictatorship (1977-1988)
1.5 democratic governments (1989-1991)

military dictatorships (1958-1971)

in july 1957, prime minister suhrawardy approved leasing of secret isi installation, peshawar air station, cia. after commencing military coup d état against president iskander mirza, army commander ayub khan visited united states, further enhancing relations u.s. while @ same time, trying establishing link soviet union through zulfikar ali bhutto.

in 1959, ayub khan permitted flights of reconnaissance , covert surveillance flights of u-2, giving authorization of final u-2 flight, piloted usaf captain francis gary powers. operation ended violently when soviet air defence forces shot down u-2, capturing pilot near @ vicinity. overall, ayub khan knew of operation, understanding consequences , aftermath, , shuddered shoulders when notified in london, usaf , cia.

the u-2 incident severely compromised pakistan security , worsened relations between soviet union , pakistan, soviet backing india. during time, indian nuclear programme expanded , progressed @ exponential level. attempt put bold front, former chief of army staff general khalid mahmud arif while commenting on incident stated that, pakistan felt deceived because u.s. had kept in dark such clandestine spy operations launched pakistan’s territory .

a great soviet ire on pakistan, , soviets threatened bomb base if future missions flown it. soviet union paid revenge on indo-pakistani war of 1965, emerged biggest supplier of military hardware india. india on other hand, distanced western countries, developed close relations soviet union. soviet union , india used diplomacy, convincing u.s. , western powers keep ban on pakistan s military , hardware. after 1965 war, arms race between india , pakistan became more asymmetric , india outdistancing pakistan far.

relations west , east pakistan

the soviet union had far more better relations east-pakistan (now bangladesh), , had strong ties communist party after staging protest (see bengali language movement) give national recognition language compare urdu in 1956 constitution. communist party had ensure complete elimination of pakistan muslim league once , all, leading collapse of central government of pakistan muslim league in federal government. tendency of democracy , anti-american sentiment greater in east-pakistan, highly benefited soviet union in 1971. when mutual defence treaty, following arrival of military advsers maag group, announced in february 1954, there great outcry in east-pakistan. many demonstrations, led communist party held , 162 newly elected members of east-pakistan parliament signed statement, denounced pakistan s government signing military pact united states.

in west-pakistan, soviet relations had improved after formation of leading democratic socialist pakistan peoples party. tendency of socialism greater in west pakistan, in contrast east pakistan tendency of communism @ height. after 1965 war, soviet relations socialist mass, awami national party, pakistan people s party, , pakistan socialist party, impulsively improved. in 1972, west-pakistan parliament passed resolution called establishing ties soviet union. during 1980s when purged took place under zia regime, socialists members escaped soviet union through afghanistan, seeking political asylum there.

role in indo-pakistani war of 1971

the soviet union played decisive role in 1971 winter war, first signing indo-soviet treaty of friendship , cooperation. soviet union sympathized bangladeshis, , supported indian army , mukti bahini during war, recognizing independence of bangladesh weaken position of rivals—the united states, saudi arabia, , china.

on 6 december , 13 december 1971, soviet navy dispatched 2 groups of cruisers , destroyers , nuclear submarine armed nuclear missiles vladivostok; trailed u.s. task force 74 indian ocean 18 december 1971 until 7 january 1972. soviets had nuclear submarine ward off threat posed india uss enterprise task force in indian ocean. soviet navy s presence threatening pakistan, soviet nuclear submarines k-320 , charlie, movements picked pakistan navy s submarines. pakistan navy s submarines ghazi, hangor, , mangor had sent solid evidence of soviet navy s covert involvement helping indian navy, , soviet navy s own secret operations against pakistan navy. pakistan navy avoided aggressive contacts soviet navy due possible nuclear retaliation soviet nuclear submarines in karachi. in 2012, in official press release in russian consulate-general in karachi, russian ambassador remarked former soviet stance against pakistan in 1971, embarrassed our relations .

democratic government (1971-1977)


map showing distance peshawer moscow.

the democratic socialist alliance led then-prime minister zulfikar ali bhutto made effort improve relations soviet union, , first time in pakistani history, soviet union s ties pakistan began warm , relations improved. reviving foreign policy, bhutto relieved pakistan seato , cento, breaking off relations united states under president jimmy carter. in 1974, bhutto paid tiring , lengthy state visit soviet union, becoming first prime minister since independence of pakistan in 1947. bhutto , delegation met great jubilation, warm-heated celebration took place after bhutto received alexei kosygin in moscow. honorary guard of honor bestowed soviet armed forces, , strong interaction made during bhutto s democratic era. bhutto met leonid brezhnev pakistan reached agreements soviet union on mutual trust, cooperation, technical assistance, , friendship.

while there, bhutto succeeded convince soviet union establish integrated steel mills, prompted soviet union provide funds billion dollar project. prime minister bhutto made deliberate attempt warm relations russia trying improve relations communist bloc. bhutto sought develop , alleviate soviet-pak relations, soviet union established pakistan steel mills in 1972. foundation stone gigantic project laid on 30 december 1973 prime minister mr. zulfiqar ali bhutto. facing inexperience erection work of integrated steel mill, bhutto requested soviet union send experts. soviet union sends dozens of advisors , experts, under russian scientist mikhail koltokof, supervised construction of integrated steel mills, number of industrial , consortium companies financing mega-project.

during 1973 till 1979, soviet union , pakistan enjoyed strong relationship each other benefited soviet union. interaction short lived after popular unrest began take place after 1977 elections. united states support, cia-sponsored operation codenamed fair play removed bhutto power in 1977. soviet relations pakistan deteriorated on april 4, 1979, when bhutto executed supreme court of pakistan. earlier, leonid brezhnev, alexei kosygin, , other members of politburo had sent repeated calls clemency cmla general muhammad zia-ul-haq forcefully rejected soviet requests. breznev maintained issue of bhutto pakistan s internal matter did not wish see him executed. when bhutto hanged, brezhnev condemned act out of purely humane motives .

military dictatorship (1977-1988)

soviet afghanistan: map showing areas involving heavy fighting. note: areas adjacent balochistan province remained untouched (white region, south) fighting while nwfp (north-west) inflicted heavy fighting.

shortly after soviet intervention in afghanistan, military ruler general muhammad zia-ul-haq called meeting of senior military members , technocrats of military government. @ meeting, general zia-ul-haq asked chief of army staff general khalid mahmud arif (veteran of 1965 , 1971 war) , chairman of joint chiefs of staff admiral muhammad shariff (who made pow india during bangladesh liberation war in 1971) lead specialized civil-military team formulate geo-strategy counter soviet aggression. @ meeting, director-general of isi @ time, lieutenant-general akhtar abdur rahman advocated idea of covert operation in afghanistan arming islamic extremist, , loudly heard saying: kabul must burn! kabul must burn! . pakistan, soviet war islamist mujaheddin complete revenge in retaliation soviet union s long unconditional support of regional rival, india, notably during 1965 , 1971 wars, led loss of east pakistan.

in 1980, relationship took dangerous turn, when soviet press, notable pravda , other soviet commentators, began issue threatening statements towards pakistan. soviet commentator, v baikov, went far enough say: axis of united states , china, trying secure base rapid deployment force, presumable offering f-16 fighter plans in view. soviet commentator threateningly asked pakistan if (pakistan) thought united states pulling in hostilities afghanistan; aggression taking place in vicinity of ussr . in february 1980, delegation of tass in new york city maintains that, 1 can see contours of dangerous plans aimed @ pakistan s arch rivals— india, soviet union, , afghanistan. change of administration in 1980 , immediate verbal threat of soviet union pakistan, brought united states , pakistan on six-year trade, economic , military agreement, valuing approximately ~32.5 billions dollars.

the u.s. viewed conflict in afghanistan integral cold war struggle, , cia provided assistance anti-soviet forces through isi, in program called operation cyclone. siphoning off of aid weapons, in weapons logistics , coordination put under pakistan navy in port city of karachi, contributed disorder , violence there, while heroin entering afghanistan pay arms contributed addiction problems. pakistan navy coordinated foreign weapons afghanistan, while of high-ranking admirals responsible storing weapons in navy logistics depot, later coordinated weapons supply mujaheddin, out of complete revenge of pakistan navy s brutal loss , defeat @ hands of soviet backed indian navy in 1971.

in november 1982, general zia attended funeral, in moscow, of leonid brezhnev, late general secretary of communist party of soviet union. soviet foreign minister andrei gromyko , new secretary general yuri andropov met zia there. andropov expressed indignation on pakistan s covert support of afghan resistance against soviet union , satellite state, soviet afghanistan. zia took hand , assured him, general secretary, believe me, pakistan wants nothing relations soviet union . according gromyko, zia s sincerity convinced them, zia s actions didn t live words. ironically, zia directly dealt israel, working build covert relations israel, allowing country actively participate in soviet war in afghanistan. helped isi, mossad channeled soviet reversed engineered weapons afghanistan. in charlie wilson s own word, zia reported have remarked israeli intelligence service: don t put stars of david on boxes .

democratic governments (1989-1991)

mothers of soviet soldiers meeting @ pakistani embassy, moscow appealing bhutto government rescuing soviet soldiers captivity. not until 1992 when sharif government released details of soldiers.

prime minister benazir bhutto (daughter of zulfikar ali bhutto) authorized further aggressive military operations in afghanistan topple fragile communist regime , end soviet influence. 1 of military authorizations military action in jalalabad of afghanistan in retaliation soviet union s long unconditional support of india, proxy war in pakistan, , pakistan s loss in 1971 war. operation defining moment [benazir s] government prove loyalty pakistan armed forces. operation planned then-director general of inter-services intelligence (isi) lieutenant-general hamid gul, inclusion of u.s. ambassador pakistan robert oakley. known battle of jalalabad, intended gain conventional victory on soviet union after soviet union had withdrawn troops. operation failed miserably , afghan army supported soviet scuds won battle resulting in isi chief being sacked prime minister

at end of years of cold war, soviet union announced establish 1 gw commercial nuclear power plant in pakistan, after witnessing aging technology prime minister benazir bhutto, later followed prime minister nawaz sharif, did not authorize purchase , showed little interest in aging soviet technology.

in 1992, prime minister nawaz sharif released details , company of soviet soldiers russian government when alexander rutskoy visited country, after meeting in committee led deputy foreign minister of pakistan, shahryar khan.