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February 27th, 2018 
Awake Goy 
nsnbc : Russian-language signposts have been erected in several regions of Pakistan, and Russia has appointed an honorary consul for the Pakistani city of Peshawar, following up on the bolstering of bilateral relations and the increased Russian presence in Pakistan.
During the Soviet Union’s decade-long occupation of Afghanistan from 1979-89, Pakistan helped the United States funnel weapons and fighters to help the internationally-backed mujahedin battling Soviet forces.
In March 2017 a group of Russian military advisers were given a rare tour of the North Waziristan tribal region, a no-go area for the media and a former hotbed of militancy. That came just months after Russia and Pakistan conducted joint military drills for the first time.
Around that time, new signposts in Russian appeared in North Waziristan. Previously, traffic signs were only in Urdu, the official language, and Pashto, spoken by the majority of Pashtuns in the area.
In early February 2018, new Russian signposts were also erected along a highway near the capital, Islamabad. Weeks later, Russia appointed Arsala Khan as honorary consul-general in Peshawar at a ceremony on February 20. The provincial governor, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, said it signaled a ‘new chapter’ of renewed diplomatic relations.
Russia’s increased footprint in Pakistan concurs with renewed Russian interest in neighboring Afghanistan. The increased Russian footprint in Pakistan coincides also with down-wards-spiraling Pakistani – US relations over Pakistan’s support of Afghan Taliban factions.
The presence of proxies, including Iranian and Russian has long been known and published, among others by Pakistani Major (r( Agha H. Amin Map plottings, Major (r) Agha Humayum Amin
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said during a visit to Islamabad on February 20 that Moscow was ‘very preoccupied’ by the increasing presence of Islamic State (IS) militants in Afghanistan and the threat the group poses to the Central Asian republics and Russia.
Afghan officials have accused Moscow of visiting Taliban training centers in Pakistan and supporting the group while prominent Afghan politicians such as ex-president Hamid Karzai appear to be backing Moscow and the attempt to find a negotiated settlement between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
The United States has previously suggested that Russia may be providing weapons to the Taliban, which enjoys sanctuaries in Pakistan or that Iran is supporting Taliban troops, primarily in northwestern Afghanistan where Russia also has a traditionally strong influence.
Russia denies that it provides any such support to the Taliban, although it admitted it has had contact with the militant group over safeguarding security and getting the militants to reconcile with Kabul. Russia also has also offered to host talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, and has suggested easing global sanctions against Taliban leaders who cooperate with peace efforts.
CH/L – nsnbc 27.02.2018
Source Article from https://nsnbc.me/2018/02/27/russia-upgrades-presence-in-pakistan/
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