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| - The relations of Pakistan and Soviet Union dated back to 1948 when Moscow directed a farewell message to then-Prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan. Pakistan was established during the penultimate times of cold war, and the Soviet influence on Imperial Iran had deepened, and the Russian military involvement in Afghanistan had a long history, going back to Tsarist times in the so-called "Great Game" between Russia and Great Britain. According to the studies conducted by the Institute of Strategic Studies (ISS), the Soviet Union did not welcomed the Indian partition, fluctuating from cool to antagonistic and hostile relations. Moscow gave vehement criticism to United Kingdom for partitioning the region, regarded as the "Divide and rule strategy of foreign policy of Great Britain, and had earlier labeled the Muslim League as a tool of the British, from its very inception. Joseph Stalin and officials at Moscow did not send any congratulatory message to Governor-General Jinnah— founder of Pakistan. Rather the Soviet Union extended relations after the death of Jinnah, after sending the invitation to Prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan on April 1948. During the 1947 war, Soviet Union remained neutral non-committal attitude, while the Western countries moved the Kashmir dispute to United Nations Security Council, to settle the dispute. The Status quo was more acceptable to India, not by Pakistan, initially influence Moscow to vote in favor of India in 1947. During 1947-53, Pakistan was an early member of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) facing the challenging issues involving the economic default, internal unrest, challenges in foreign policy, constitutional crises, and the problems at the Constituent Assembly after the death of Jinnah. Initially, Pakistan waited to see if any nation was willing to help the country to re-build its massive military and economical aid, and leading bureaucrat at this time, Sir Firoz Ali Khan had revealed that: If the Hindus give (us) and Pakistan, then the Hindus are her best friends. If the British give it to her then the Brits are our best friends. If neither will give it to us the freedom..... Then the Russia is our best friend.... —Firoze Ali Khan, 1946, source In April 1948, at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Far East, Pakistan's foreign officers of Pakistan announced that "she (Pakistan) would accept aid from any source", but the Soviets did not respond to that request. In 1948, Prime minister Ali Khan made several attempts to Soviet Union to established the relations, but Soviet remained quiet. On April 1948, Foreign minister Sir Zafarullah Khan held talks with Deputy Foreign minister Andrei Gromyko, subjecting the diplomatic relation. During this time, Pakistan saw relations with the Soviet Union from the prism of relations with India just as these days it sees ties with the United States. However, the policy was changed after Soviet Union witnessed two events particularly forcing them to respond to Pakistan when India decided to remain within the Commonwealth Nations, it was a clear sign that India was leaning towards the Western countries under the U.S. auspicious. The second event was the Indian premier Jawaharlal Nehru's announcement to pay the state visit to the United States on May 7, 1949. To a reaction, Soviet Union extended an invitation to Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, in 1949 to visit Moscow, becoming the first prime minister from the Commonwealth of Nations to visit the communist country, but Soviet Union herself did not materialized the dates or the plans. Instead, Prime minister Ali Khan went onto paid a state visit to United States, taking the largest diplomatic and military convey with him, a clear rebuff to Soviet Union. According to studies completed by Pakistan Institute of International Affairs (PIIA), the real motives, goals and objectives, were to an economic and technical assistance. "There are important divergences of outlook between Pakistan, with its Islamic background, and the Soviet Union with its background of Marxism which is atheistic....Pakistan had noticed the subservience which was forced upon the allies of the Soviet Union... Furthermore, there was the question whether Russia could supply the aid, both material and technical, which Pakistan so urgently needed..." PIIA noted. The relations suffered setback when members of Communist Party led by communist Faiz Ahmad Faiz, sponsored by Major-General Akbar Khan, hatched a coup d'état against Prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan in 1950 (See Rawalpindi conspiracy case). Soon, three years after, Prime minister Liaqat Ali Khan assassinated while campaigning for his electoral term. During 1954-58, the relations were strained and hostility against each other as time passes. In 1954, Pakistan became member of SEATO and CENTO in 1955, which Soviet Union did not welcomed, overtly opting the Pro-Indian policy and regarding the Kashmir as part of India. As a result of 1954-55 elections, Prime minister Huseyn Suhrawardy, a left-wing prime minister, made deliberate attempts to improve relations. On March–April 1954, a delegation of the Soviet cultural troupe toured Pakistan and a festival of the Soviet films was held in Karachi. To reciprocate this, the Pakistan Government also sent a delegation to study the Soviet industrial and agricultural development In 1956, Soviet premier Nikolai Bulganin offered technical and scientific assistance to Prime minister Suhrawardy for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, offering Soviet contribution after Suhrawardy submitted the plan to established the nuclear power against India. In 1958, Soviet Union agreed to give Pakistan an handful aid in agriculture, economic, science, control of pest, flood control, desalination, soil erosion and technical assistance to Pakistan. In 1958, Pakistan and Soviet Union finally established an oil consortium, Pakistan Oilfields, and expressing interests in establishing the country's first steel mills.
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