1972 Bhutto visit to Soviet Union

In March 1972, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, president of Pakistan, visited the Soviet Union. The visit became an important step in normalising foreign relations between the two countries.[1][2][3] Bhutto engaged in substantive discussions with Soviet leaders in Moscow, including meeting with Chairman Alexei Kosygin and Secretary-General Leonid Brezhnev.[4][5]

The meeting was marked as a reconciliation between the states and as a restoration of industrial co-operation. It also signaled a wider shift towards an independent foreign policy, in particular to reduce Pakistan’s dependency on the United States.[6]

Even before being elected in 1971, Bhutto had spoken of the necessity of independent foreign policy and stronger relations with the Soviet Union, which had been fractured during the direct war with India and the Indo-Soviet Treaty.[7]

Held from 2 March till 5 March 1972, the meeting also strengthened trade between the two states. Trade was increased from 36.2 million rubles (Рубль) to 92.3 million rubles.[8] The repercussions of Bhutto's visit were vast, including the ₨.4.5 billion worth of Pakistan Steel Mills established in Karachi, the Guddo Thermal Power Plant, and Pakistan's official departure from the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) and the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO).[9][10]

In 1974, Bhutto again visited Moscow as part of a goodwill mission, aimed at strengthening ties.[11][12] That visit yielded mixed results: the Pakistan Steel Mills were established and inaugurated in 1985; however, the closer ties with China, difficulties with India and Afghanistan, and the discovery of Soviet arms made influential impacts on the relations between Pakistan and Soviet Union.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Gupta 1975, pp. 86–88.
  2. ↑ Snyder 1991, p. 60.
  3. ↑ Syed 1974, pp. 170–171.
  4. ↑ Snyder 1991, pp. 66–67
  5. ↑ Syed 1974, p. 1771-173
  6. ↑ Haroon, Faraz. "Bhutto in Moscow". thefridaytimes.com. Friday times,. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  7. ↑ Racioppi 1994, pp. 90–92.
  8. ↑ Racioppi 1994, pp. 94–95.
  9. ↑ Korson 2008, pp. 70–74.
  10. 1 2 Staff works. "Bhutto in Soviet Union". bhutto.org/. PPP press release. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  11. ↑ Russian consular-general. "Russian-Pakistan relations". rusconsulkarachi.mid.ru/. Russian consular-general. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  12. ↑ Raza, Rafi (1997). Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Pakistan : 1967–1977 (2nd impr. ed.). Karachi: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0195776973.

Further reading

  • Racioppi, Linda (1994). "Stability and Change". Soviet policy towards South Asia since 1970 (google books) (1. publ. ed.). Cambridge u.a.: Cambridge Univ. Press. p. 225. ISBN 0521414571. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  • Gupta, Shyam Ratna (1975). India: A Study in Futurism. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications. p. 101. ISBN 0883868245. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  • Gerges, James Wynbrandt ; foreword by Fawaz A. (2008). A brief history of Pakistan. New York: Facts on File. p. 320. ISBN 081606184X.
  • Korson, ed. by J. Henry (1974). Contemporary problems of Pakistan. Leiden: Brill. p. 147. ISBN 9004039422. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  • Snyder, edited by Robert Jervis, Jack (1991). Dominoes and bandwagons strategic beliefs and great power competition in the Eurasian rimland. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 277. ISBN 0195362764.
  • Syed, Anwar Hussain (1974). China & Pakistan : diplomacy of an entente cordiale. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press. p. 245. ISBN 087023160X. Retrieved 28 April 2015.

Media archives

  • "Z.A. Bhutto in Moscow 1972". PTV archives. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
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