The twelfth round of the Pakistan-Russia Joint Working Group to Counter International Terrorism, held in Islamabad on June 23, 2026, was more than a routine diplomatic engagement. It reflected the steady maturation of a relationship that has moved beyond old assumptions and entered a practical phase shaped by shared security interests, regional responsibility, and a common understanding that terrorism cannot be defeated by isolated national responses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>Dmitriy Trenin: The meeting, led by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Dmitry Lyubinsky and Pakistan\u2019s Additional Foreign Secretary Ambassador Khalid Jamali, focused on regional terrorist threats, especially those emanating from Afghanistan. Both sides discussed the dangers posed by terrorist groups operating from unstable spaces and agreed on the need for coordinated responses to new methods of financing, recruitment, propaganda, and cross-border movement. Equally important, they expressed satisfaction over the positive trajectory of bilateral cooperation and agreed to deepen coordination at regional and international forums, particularly the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development deserves serious attention because Pakistan and Russia are not merely discussing terrorism as an abstract global threat. Both countries have direct experience of its human, social, and strategic costs. Pakistan has fought a long and painful battle against terrorism, losing civilians, soldiers, police officers, and economic opportunities over many years. Russia, too, has faced terrorism and extremism, especially in regions vulnerable to transnational militant networks. For both countries, counterterrorism is not a matter of political messaging. It is a matter of national stability, regional order, and public safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The convergence between Pakistan and Russia is therefore natural. Both countries want a stable Afghanistan. Both are concerned about terrorist groups exploiting Afghan territory. Both understand that militancy, narcotics, illegal weapons, cyber networks, and extremist recruitment are increasingly interconnected. Both are also aware that instability in Afghanistan does not remain confined within Afghan borders. It travels through refugee pressures, border insecurity, illicit financing, ideological radicalization, and attacks on neighboring states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pakistan\u2019s position at the Islamabad meeting was clear and responsible: the relevant authorities in Afghanistan must take immediate and verifiable action against terrorist groups and ensure that Afghan territory is not used for planning or conducting attacks against any country. This is not an aggressive demand. It is a basic principle of international responsibility. No state or authority should allow its territory to become a sanctuary for violence against its neighbors. Pakistan has consistently argued that peace in Afghanistan is inseparable from peace in Pakistan, Central Asia, Russia, China, Iran, and the wider region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Russia\u2019s engagement with Pakistan on this issue adds diplomatic weight to this message. Moscow has its own channels, regional influence, and a long experience in dealing with security questions across Eurasia. Russian support for regional counterterrorism cooperation can strengthen the broader consensus that Afghanistan must not again become a hub for transnational terrorist networks. In a tense and fragmented geopolitical environment, such support is valuable because it moves the discussion away from blame and toward practical responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Pakistan-Russia relationship has not always been easy. During the Cold War, both countries stood on different sides of global alignments. However, international relations do not stay frozen in the past; they evolve when national interests, regional realities, and strategic needs change. Over the past decade, Pakistan and Russia have gradually built a more balanced and forward-looking relationship. Diplomatic engagement has expanded. Defense contacts have improved. Counterterrorism dialogue has become institutionalized. Energy, trade, connectivity, and regional security all emerged as important areas of cooperation. The continuation of the Joint Working Group itself is evidence of the serious efforts being placed into furthering relations. Counterterrorism cooperation cannot be built through one meeting or one statement; it requires trust, regular dialogue, information exchange, technical understanding, and policy coordination. The fact that this was the twelfth round of such discussions shows that both sides have invested in upholding such continuity. The decision to hold the next round in Moscow next year further reflects mutual commitment and confidence in Pakistan-Russia bilateral relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, military-to-military cooperation has also contributed to trust-building. The Pakistan-Russia \u201cDruzhba\u201d exercises, initiated in recent years, have focused on counterterrorism, special operations, and interoperability. Such exercises are not directed against any third country. Their value lies in improving professional understanding, sharing field experience, and developing the habits of cooperation needed in complex security environments. When armed forces that have different traditions learn to coordinate, they create channels that can help prevent misperception and improve crisis management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The importance of this cooperation becomes clearer when viewed against today\u2019s hostile and tense geopolitics. The region around Pakistan is under severe stress. Afghanistan remains fragile. The Middle East has witnessed disruptive escalation patterns repeatedly. Major-power rivalry is intensifying. Economic pressures are weakening vulnerable states. Cyber threats are expanding and extremist groups are adapting to these changes quickly, using digital platforms for recruitment, propaganda, fundraising, and operational coordination. In such an environment, countries that can talk to multiple sides and support de-escalation become especially important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>Russia-Pakistan Relations at the Current Stage: Views from Moscow and Islamabad. RIAC and SVI Policy Brief<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Pakistan has increasingly taken strides to present itself as a peace-making state. Its diplomacy in regional crises, its calls for dialogue, and its insistence on negotiated solutions show that Islamabad wants to convert its geostrategic position into a stabilizing role. Pakistan\u2019s geography places it at the junction of South Asia, Central Asia, China, the Middle East, and the Arabian Sea. This geographic reality may be viewed as a serious concern if conflict dominates the region, but it can also become an advantage if cooperation, connectivity, and peace are prioritized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here, Russia can play a constructive role in supporting this positive transformation in the region. Moscow\u2019s engagement with Pakistan in counterterrorism, regional diplomacy, and multilateral forums gives Islamabad additional diplomatic space and room for maneuver. Russian support also helps broaden Pakistan\u2019s foreign policy options at a time when the global order is becoming more multipolar. A Pakistan that has stable relations with China, Russia, the Muslim world, Central Asia, and the West is better positioned to act as a bridge rather than a battleground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Shanghai Cooperation Organization offers an especially useful platform for this cooperation. Both Pakistan and Russia are members of the SCO, which has long placed terrorism, separatism, and extremism at the center of its security agenda. Through the SCO, Pakistan and Russia can work with China, Central Asian states, Iran, and other members to strengthen regional mechanisms against terrorist financing, cross-border movement, digital radicalization, and narcotics-linked militancy. The SCO may not solve every dispute, but it provides a rare place at the table where regional stakeholders can discuss difficult security issues without relying exclusively on Western-led frameworks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The United Nations remains equally important. Terrorism is a global threat, and approaches to counterterrorism must remain anchored in international law, sovereign equality, and respect for territorial integrity. Pakistan and Russia can cooperate at the UN to ensure that counterterrorism does not become selective, politicized, or used as a pressure tool against weaker states. At the same time, both countries can support the stronger implementation of existing UN counterterrorism obligations, especially those dealing with safe havens, financing, recruitment, and the movement of foreign terrorist fighters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A key strength of Pakistan-Russia cooperation is that it is not strictly limited to security. Economic and energy cooperation can reinforce peace. Terrorism often thrives in environments of poverty, isolation, unemployment, weak governance, and illegal economies. If Pakistan and Russia expand cooperation in trade, energy, transport, agriculture, technology, and education, they can help create conditions that reduce the appeal of extremism. Security operations are necessary, but they are not sufficient. Sustainable peace requires jobs, connectivity, development, and hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is where regional connectivity becomes central. Pakistan can serve as a gateway, linking South Asia, Central Asia, China, the Middle East, and the Arabian Sea. Russia, as a major Eurasian power, has strong interests in stable trade corridors, energy routes, and regional markets. Cooperation between the two countries can support a broader vision of Eurasian connectivity in which security and development reinforce each other. Roads, ports, pipelines, railways, digital networks, and trade routes are not just economic assets. In a conflict-prone region, they are also instruments of stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, optimism should not ignore challenges. Terrorist groups are flexible and adaptive. Unfortunately, Afghan instability remains a complex issue, as regional mistrust is deep. Great-power rivalries can also complicate cooperation in the region. Sanctions, competing alliances, and diplomatic sensitivities may slow development and progress. However, these difficulties make Pakistan-Russia engagement all the more necessary. In times of uncertainty, responsible states must keep channels open and build issue-based partnerships where interests converge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>Vali Kaleji, Lana Rawandi-Fadai: The Islamabad meeting shows that Pakistan and Russia understand this reality. Their cooperation does not require complete agreement on every global issue. It requires practical alignment where their interests overlap. Counterterrorism is one such area. Afghanistan\u2019s stability is another. Regional peace, connectivity, and opposition to extremist violence are also shared priorities. These convergences are strong enough to support a durable partnership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here, it is important to recognize Pakistan\u2019s positive role on his matter. The country has repeatedly paid the price of regional instability, yet it continues to call for dialogue, restraint, and cooperation. Its demand for verifiable action against terrorist groups operating from Afghan territory is not only a Pakistani concern; it is a regional necessity. By engaging Russia, Pakistan is strengthening a wider diplomatic consensus against terrorism while reinforcing its image as a responsible regional actor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Russia\u2019s role is also significant. By maintaining structured counterterrorism dialogue with Pakistan, Moscow is contributing to regional balance and practical security cooperation. Its support can help build pressure for responsible behavior in Afghanistan, strengthen SCO-based coordination, and promote a Eurasian security approach that is not dependent on confrontation. At a time when the world is divided by blocs and rivalries, Russia-Pakistan cooperation offers an example of pragmatic diplomacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The next round of the Joint Working Group in Moscow should build on the Islamabad meeting with concrete outcomes. These may include deepening intelligence coordination, joint research on terrorist financing, strengthening cyber-counterterrorism mechanisms, training exchanges, coordination at the UN and SCO, and regular threat assessments emerging from the region. The focus should remain practical, measurable, and forward-looking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ultimately, Pakistan-Russia counterterrorism cooperation is not only about preventing attacks. It is about shaping a more stable regional order. If both countries continue to act with patience, professionalism, and mutual respect, their partnership can contribute to peace in Afghanistan, security in Central and South Asia, and greater confidence across Eurasia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a world marked by suspicion and geopolitical hostility, cooperation between Pakistan and Russia sends an important message: regional peace is still possible when states focus on shared interests rather than inherited divisions. Terrorism is a common threat. Stability is a common need. Dialogue is a common responsibility. Pakistan and Russia have the experience, geography, and diplomatic capacity to help turn this responsibility into meaningful regional progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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