Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Pakistan's army chief of staff, visited Moscow this month, in a renewed attempt to improve his country's relations with Russia.
The visit came after the cancellation, for no stated reason, of Russian President Vladimir Putin's trip to Pakistan, that had been scheduled to begin on October 2 and would have been the first-ever visit of a Russian president to Pakistan. Mr Putin was to have participated in talks on Afghanistan, with the leaders of Tajikistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan. That meeting, too, is to be rescheduled.
Despite the cancellation, Pakistan-Russia connections are growing stronger, a development with great significance for the South Asian region. As Nato forces prepare to leave Afghanistan, new regional alignments are emerging.
As Pakistan's relations with the US have deteriorated, it has become clear that Pakistan is working to improve ties with Russia.
Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari visited Russia in May and the Russian president's special envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov's visited Pakistan in June.
Islamabad currently finds itself with few friends across the globe. Even China has been circumspect about what it can offer to its "all-weather friend".
Pakistan hopes Russia will start selling it more substantial defence equipment. Both countries are also trying to increase their presence in Central Asia. Russia wants stability on its Central Asian periphery and Pakistan remains critical in managing the region. Moscow's outreach to Islamabad is an attempt to get a handle on this regional dynamic.
Russia has taken note of India's changing foreign policy priorities and also of the recent downturn in US-Pakistan ties. The US-India rapprochement has been problematic for Russia. As Delhi moves away from its long-standing ties to Moscow, especially in dependence on military hardware decreases, Moscow too is looking for alternatives. So there are various factors at work in this outreach.
Mr Putin publicly endorsed Pakistan's bid to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a mutual-security grouping of China, Russia and four Central Asian states. He also offered Russian help in managing Pakistan's energy infrastructure. And the Russian leader went on to suggest that his government views Pakistan as a reliable and very important partner.
Russia's Gazprom wants to invest in the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline.
And although Russia has been a beneficiary of the US-India civilian nuclear cooperation pact by signing nuclear deals with India, there have been rumblings in Moscow regarding India's nuclear civil-liability law in connection with the nuclear plant project in Kudankulam, Tamil Nadhu, being built with Russian financing.
Meanwhile, after deciding to ignore Pakistan for decades in its arms sales matrix, Moscow has now decided to gradually start weapons sales to Pakistan.
Russia is the world's second-largest arms exporter, with a 24 per cent share of the global weaponry trade, surpassed only by the United States, which has almost 30 per cent of the global arms market. India continues to buy a large share of Russian arms exports, but New Delhi has been diversifying its suppliers.
As the global arms market becomes a difficult place for Russia to navigate, with China deciding to produce its own weapons rather than procuring them from Russia, Moscow needs new buyers.
India's move away from Russia has been gradual but significant. India's decision to buy the Rafale combat aircraft from Dassault of France was as big a setback to Russia as it was to the US.
Defence sales to Pakistan can open up a big new potential market for Russia, especially since the Washington appetite to sustain Pakistan's military-industrial complex is declining dramatically.
Russian-Pakistani defence cooperation may also involve joint military exercises and an exchange of personnel as well as defence sales.
But there are clear limits here. Moscow can never fully replace Washington in aid, nor in defence dependence. Russia is constrained in what it can do, and Pakistan's needs are huge. It is unlikely that Russia will emerge as a major benefactor. Still, Pakistan wants to show the US that it has some other options.
Moscow has always in the past been critical of the Pakistani military establishment's propensity to use extremist groups to further their nation's strategic ends.
The Russians remain worried about this tendency, and can be expected to continue to press Pakistan on that matter.
The Russian policy establishment also naturally feels strongly about the possibility of nuclear technology falling into the hands of extremists in Pakistan, and has been very vocal about this threat.
Also, Moscow will be cautious in sharing its defence technology with Pakistan as it would not like to alienate India, still one of its largest markets for defence equipment, any further. As fellow Bric countries, Russia deals with India on a number of levels, and many in Moscow will be reluctant to strain those connections by making Pakistan a high priority.
India will be watching this development with great interest but something big would have to happen before Delhi would grow truly worried. India's ties with Russia are historic, wide-ranging and well institutionalised.
Russia will do its best to assuage Indian concerns and Delhi should largely be satisfied with those efforts. But a lot of world capitals will be watching to see how far and fast the new Russia-Pakistan connection will go.
Harsh V Pant is a reader in international studies at King's College London
Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Breast cancer in men: the facts
1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.
2) Symptoms can include a lump, discharge, swollen glands or a rash.
3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible.
4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key.
5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
Quick%20facts
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Manchester City (0) v Liverpool (3)
Uefa Champions League, quarter-final, second leg
Where: Etihad Stadium
When: Tuesday, 10.45pm
Live on beIN Sports HD
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
