Pakistan and Russia are in close collaboration for the last decade or so due to the changed regional and global geo-political scenarios. However understanding and respecting each other’s interests as well as convergence of Pak-Russian interests in Afghanistan and Central Asia is the main driving force behind this development which guarantee a permanent need for each other. Both Pakistan and Russia emphasised on a negotiated settlement for Afghanistan imbroglio addressing concerns of regional states. The Russia-Central Asia-South Asia integration via Afghanistan and Pakistan is in the minds of Russia and Pakistan. Russia controls the northern corridor to the contiguous areas of Afghanistan and Central Asia while Pakistan provides an outlet in the south. The close cooperation between Pakistan and Russia has also encouraged Central Asian Republics for greater interaction with Pakistan. Sino-Russian close cooperation on Central Asia and Pak-China close liaison on Afghanistan also solidifies Pak-Russia collaboration. Thus Russia, China, Pakistan axis will be a symbol of peace and prosperity for Afghanistan and Central Asia. In post US/NATO Afghanistan, maintaining regional peace and stability will be a shared responsibility of regional states.

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The origin of the Kashmir dispute is political, as it is the unfinished agenda of partitioning the Indian Subcontinent. The legal aspects were later attached to the dispute to provide relevance and coverage to the unsolicited Indian invasion, which was a significant impediment towards a logical and pacific resolution. However, over seven decades of occupation proved infertile and less time for winning the hearts and minds of the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) for India. Today, after seventy-five years of its occupation, the people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir neither accept the Indian constitution, nor the annexation, unilaterally and illegally carried out by India on August 5, 2019. Instead, they stood up for their fundamental right of self-determination with new vigour and enthusiasm. This development has infuriated India to commit massive human rights violations in IIOJK. While India has done all this in violation of UN resolutions on Kashmir, there are sufficient grounds for pursuing the case in the UN politically and legally. This research focuses on finding out a roadmap as a way forward for the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute through political and lawful means.     Bibliography Entry Khan, Dr. Muhammad and Sidra Khan (2023) “Roadmap for the Political and Legal Resolution of the Kashmir Dispute” NDU Journal. 37: 85-100.

The Russian invasion of Afghanistan and the consequent USSR-Afghan War provided an opportunity to Pakistan to counter the Indian and Russian influences in the country, and thus Pakistan tried to install a Pak-friendly regime in Afghanistan. Despite the war in Afghanistan was termed as a ‘holy’ war against the ‘Russian infidels’, it helped Pakistan to settle a score with the traditional Afghan regimes who raised the border issues with Pakistan. Thus, the decision of Pakistan to support Afghan Mujahideen was a strategic one, and it raised the status of Pakistan in the global world as a strong and strategic country that was equipped strategically to handle critical global issues capably. Throughout the Soviet-Afghan War, Pakistan fought a proxy war against the USSR by aiding the Afghan Mujahideen fighting against the Russian invaders. Being a close neighbour to Afghanistan, Pakistan’s sovereignty was at stake constantly as an independent country. Pakistan was thus successful in forcing the withdrawal of the so-called superpower from Afghanistan, keeping its sovereignty intact and restoring peace and stability in the region.