• Tariq Fatemi urges Russian FM Lavrov in Moscow.
• Highlighted serious consequences of India’s IWT threat.
• SAPM delivers PM’s letter to Russian President Putin.

Moscow: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed his country’s eagerness to strengthen the ties with Pakistan within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), especially in counter-terrorism, according to a statement from the Foreign Office on Tuesday.

He expressed his comments during a meeting with special assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) about foreign affairs Tariq Fatemi on Tuesday, who is on an official visit to Russia according to FO.

Fatemi conveyed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s greetings and repeated Pakistan’s obligation to improve bilateral cooperation in central areas, including energy, trade and regional connection.

He also delivered extensive briefing on the development of South Asia and drawn attention to Pakistan’s concern about regional escalation risks. In particular, he highlighted the serious consequences of India’s threat of disturbing the Indus Waters Treaty by declaring it in so-called “monkey.”

The suspension of IWT, negotiated by the World Bank in 1960, was among a series of measures announced by India against Pakistan last month after the Pahagam attack on April 22, killing 26 tourists.

New Delhi accused Pakistan of the attack without presenting evidence and launching missile attacks on Pakistani cities and triggered the worst military clashes of almost 30 years before both sides agreed on a ceasefire on May 10.

Pakistan launched retaliatory action during “Operation Bunyan-Um-Marsoos” in response to India’s unprovoked missile and drone attacks in Pakistani civilian and military places.

Pakistan put down his six fighter jets, including three rafale, and dozens of drones. After at least 87 hours, the war between the two nuclear armed nations ended on May 10 with a ceasefire agreement broken by the United States.

According to ISPR, a total of 53 individuals, including 13 employees of the armed forces and 40 civilians, were martyrated in Indian strikes during recent military confrontation.

During today’s meeting, Lavrov expressed satisfaction with the constant progress of bilateral cooperation and pointed to ongoing joint initiatives such as the development of new steel factories and critical infrastructure projects.

He also repeated Russia’s support for normalizing the connections on the Pakistan India and referred to its potential to positively influence regional stability.

Before finishing the meeting, Fatemi personally delivered a letter from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to Russian President Vladimir Putin.