Historical Antecedents of Pakistan-Soviet Union Relations

Abstract

Pakistan was established in 1947 during the Cold War, when the US-led West and the USSR-led Communist bloc were at odds. Pakistan first sought non-alignment but promptly joined the Western bloc, which led to a protracted period of hostility with the Soviet Union that lasted until the USSR’s collapse in 1992. This research paper, however, instead of discussing the dynamics of Pak-Soviet relations during or in the context of the Cold War era, recounts the historical antecedents causing rift between both states. It, thus, explains the expansionist foreign policy of Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union towards South Asia and the pertinent aspirations and ambitions of its statesmen and intellectuals, which later had always been perceived by Pakistan as a threat to its existence and sovereignty. Further, it elaborates Soviet attitude towards the All-India Muslim League and its leadership campaigning for a separate homeland, i.e. Pakistan, for South Asian Muslims. The methodology deployed in the discourse to evaluate historical facts is descriptive-cum-analytical. The study relies on qualitative and archival data including primary sources, books, and research articles carrying the perspective from both sides of Pakistan and the Soviet Union. Developing an understanding and reflecting upon the dynamics and impact of imperialism and the behavior of great powers, this undertaking endorses and contextualizes the Post-colonial Theory. It presents the argument that during the pre-colonial and colonial eras, the acts of Tsarist Russia and then the Soviet Union bred mistrust, forcing Pakistan to maintain its distance.