page_title: Pakistan–Russia relations
section_title: Military dictatorship (1977–1988)
hierarchical_section_title: Pakistan–Russia relations / Relations with Soviet Union: 1947–1991 / Military dictatorships (1958–1971) / Military dictatorship (1977–1988)
caption_attribution_description: English: CIA map showing the areas where the main Mujahideen factions operated in 1985, during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Scale 1:2,500,000 (E 60°–E 75°/N 29°–N 38°).
context_page_description: Pakistan–Russia relations or Russo-Pakistani relations refers to the bilateral relations between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Russian Federation. The Soviet Union and Pakistan first established the diplomatic and bilateral relations on 1 May 1948.
  On May 1, 2018, Pakistan celebrated the 70th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations with Russia.
  For the most of the Cold War, the Soviet Union's relations with Pakistan have seen ups and downs during the different periods in the history of Pakistan. In 1947 to the 1950s, the Soviet Union enjoyed relatively healthy and strong relations with Pakistan when it was under civilian control, but they went ultimately cold soon after the US-backed 1958 military coup d'état although attempts to warm the relations were made after the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war. In the mid 1970s, relations were quickly improved and warmed. However, in the 1980s, relations began to deteriorate again, and during the Soviet-Afghan War, Pakistan played a key role going against the Soviet Union by supplying FIM-92 Stinger missiles to the Mujahideen backed by the aid of the United States.
context_section_description: Shortly after the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, military ruler General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq called for a meeting of senior military members and technocrats of his military government.  At this meeting, General Zia-ul-Haq asked the Chief of Army Staff General Khalid Mahmud Arif (veteran of 1965 and 1971 war)  and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Muhammad Shariff (who was made POW by India during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971) to lead a specialized civil-military team to formulate a geo-strategy to counter the Soviet aggression. At this meeting, the Director-General of the ISI at that time, Lieutenant-General Akhtar Abdur Rahman advocated for an idea of covert operation in Afghanistan by arming the Islamic extremist, and was loudly heard saying: "Kabul must burn! Kabul must burn!".  As for Pakistan, the Soviet war with Islamist mujaheddin was a complete revenge in retaliation for the Soviet Union's long unconditional support of regional rival, India, notably during the 1965 and the 1971 wars, which led the loss of East Pakistan.
  In 1980, the relationship took a dangerous turn, when Soviet press, notable "Pravda" and other Soviet commentators, began to issue threatening statements towards Pakistan. Soviet Commentator, V Baikov, went far enough to say: The axis of United States and China, is trying to secure a base for its rapid deployment force, presumable offering F-16 fighter plans in that view."  Another Soviet commentator "threateningly" asked Pakistan that "If she (Pakistan) thought about where the United States was pulling it in its hostilities with Afghanistan; their aggression was taking place in the vicinity of the USSR". In February 1980, a delegation of TASS in New York City maintains that, "One can see the contours of dangerous plans aimed at Pakistan's arch rivals— India, Soviet Union, and Afghanistan.  The change of administration in 1980 and immediate verbal threat of Soviet Union to Pakistan, brought the United States and Pakistan on a six-year trade, economic and military agreement, valuing approximately ~32.5 billions US dollars.
  The U.S. viewed the conflict in Afghanistan as an integral Cold War struggle, and the CIA provided assistance to anti-Soviet forces through the ISI, in a program called Operation Cyclone. The siphoning off of aid weapons, in which the weapons logistics and coordination were put under the Pakistan Navy in the port city of Karachi, contributed to disorder and violence there, while heroin entering from Afghanistan to pay for arms contributed to addiction problems. The Pakistan Navy coordinated the foreign weapons into Afghanistan, while some of its high-ranking admirals were responsible for storing the weapons in the Navy logistics depot, later coordinated the weapons supply to Mujaheddin, out of complete revenge of Pakistan Navy's brutal loss and defeat at the hands of the Soviet backed Indian Navy in 1971.
  In November 1982, General Zia attended the funeral, in Moscow, of Leonid Brezhnev, the late General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko and new Secretary General Yuri Andropov met with Zia there. Andropov expressed indignation over Pakistan's covert support of the Afghan resistance against the Soviet Union and its satellite state, Communist Afghanistan. Zia took his hand and assured him, "General Secretary, believe me, Pakistan wants nothing but very good relations with the Soviet Union". According to Gromyko, Zia's sincerity convinced them, but Zia's actions didn't live up to his words. Ironically, Zia directly dealt with the Israel, working to build covert relations with Israel, allowing the country to actively participate in Soviet–Afghan War. Helped by ISI, the Mossad channeled Soviet reversed engineered weapons to Afghanistan. In Charlie Wilson's own word, Zia reported to have remarked to Israeli intelligence service: "Just don't put any stars of David on the boxes".
caption: Communist Afghanistan: Map showing areas involving heavy fighting. Note: Areas adjacent to Balochistan province are remained untouched (white region, south) from the fighting while the NWFP (north-west) inflicted with heavy fighting.
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