Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa will visit Russia next month to set the stage for building a "substantial partnership", particularly in the field of military cooperation, the Foreign Office said today.
Bajwa will visit Russia in the first week of October as part of regular high level exchanges between the two countries in the past few years.
His visit will set the stage for "translating political goodwill into a substantial partnership in particular, in the field of defence," according to Foreign Office (FO) spokesman Nafees Zakaria.
Pakistan's ties with Russia appeared to have moved past the bitter Cold War hostilities in recent years and the the chill in the relations between Pakistan and the US, especially after President Donald Trump warned Islamabad for providing safe havens to terrorists, has further pushed the country towards Russia and China.
Zakaria also accused India of supporting anti-Pakistan elements and financing terrorism by funding anti-Pakistan activities.
He ruled out any meeting of Prime Minister and Foreign Minister with the Indian delegation on the sidelines of UN General Assembly in New York.
"There is no such meeting scheduled," he said.
He also expressed "disappointment" at the India-Japan Joint Statement issued at the conclusion of the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to India, in which "an unwarranted reference on Pakistan has been included".
Abe and Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon all countries to work towards rooting out terrorist safe havens and infrastructure, disrupting terrorist networks and financing channels and halting cross-border movement of terrorists, in an apparent reference to Pakistan.
"Unfortunately, Japan's subscribing to the statement was uncalled for," he said.
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