Addressing growing security threats in South and Central Asia makes Russia’s intensifying cooperation with Pakistan’s counterterrorism programs in the 2020s more plausible, and an analytical evaluation of this cooperation is the focus of this paper. Extremist groups such as the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), and the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) in Afghanistan, emerging after the U.S. withdrawal, are direct threats to Russia’s interests. Both countries work through programs involving mutual intelligence-sharing, military alliance, and diplomatic defence arrangements to fight against threats. The paper introduces an overview of Pakistan-Russia diplomatic history and examines modern practical cooperation, which overcame their earlier Cold War animosities. Using a geopolitical angle, this evaluation considers Russia’s importance in Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts, conditions that affect regional stability and peace, US-Pakistan historical relations, and Russia-India connections. The research demonstrates that Russia’s growing alliance with Pakistan against terrorism creates impacts across South Asia.
Adigwe, C. S., N. R. Mayeke, S. O. Olabanji, O. J. Okunleye, P. Joeaneke, and O. O. Olaniyi (2024) “The evolution of terrorism in the digital age: investigating the adaptation of terrorist groups to cyber technologies for recruitment, propaganda, and cyberattacks”. Asian Journal of Economics, Business and Accounting 24, 3, 289–306.
https://doi.org/10.9734/ajeba/2024/v24i31287
Aben, D. (2019) “Regional security in Central Asia: Addressing existing and potential threats and challenges”. Eurasian Research Journal1, 1, 51–65.
Adil, N., D. Muhammad, and Noor-e-Hera (2023) “Terrorism, trust, and turmoil: a critical analysis of US-Pakistan counter-terrorism cooperation”. Pakistan Journal of International Affairs 6, 3.
https://doi.org/10.52337/pjia.v6i3.1096
Akbar, A. (2024) “Taliban 2.0: implications for national security of Pakistan”. Journal of Development and Social Sciences 5, 4, 540–553.
https://doi.org/10.47205/jdss.2024(5-IV)47
Akram, D. Q. and N. Asif (2023) “Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) in post US withdrawal Afghanistan”. Journal of Professional Research in Social Sciences 11, 1, 211–238.
https://doi.org/10.58932/MULA0028
Akram, N. and K. Tariq (2024) “War on terrorism in Pakistan: security challenges and safety prioritization”. Social Science and Humanities Journal 8, 04, 34765–34782.
https://doi.org/10.18535/sshj.v8i04.981
Amin, T. (2016) “Pakistan-Russia relations and the unfolding ‘new great game’ in South Asia”. In H. Rytövuori-Apunen, ed. The regional security puzzle around Afghanistan: bordering practices in Central and South Asia. Opladen: Verlag Barbara Budrich.
https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvbkjzm0.13
Ali, U. and T. Javed, T (2024) “Pakistan-Russia emerging cooperation: opportunities and challenges”. Margalla Papers 28, 1) 141–160.
https://doi.org/10.54690/margallapapers.28.1.245
Abbas, S. (2023) Afghanistan-Pakistan in a security puzzle (past, present and future). (Research Report, 3.) Vienna: VIIMES. Vienna International Institute for Middle East Studies. Available online at
https://viimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Report3_VIIMES_8Dec2024.pdf
Accsessed on 16 July 2025.
Basit, A. and A. Satria (2024) “Evolving global geopolitics and terrorism in South and Southeast Asia: Past, Present and Future”. Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses 16, 2, 21–32. Stable address:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/48766007
Bedak, M. (2025) The U.S.-Russian bilateral counterterrorism efforts. (Honors Thesis, 119.) Main: University of Maine; Honors College. Available online at
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/honors/119
Accessed on 16 July 2025.
Byman, D. (2016) “US counterterrorism intelligence cooperation with the developing world and its limits”. Intelligence and National Security 32, 2, 145–160.
https://doi.org/10.1080/02684527.2016.1235379
Clarke, C. P. (2019) After the Caliphate: The Islamic State & the future terrorist diaspora. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Crenshaw, M. (2011) Explaining terrorism: causes, processes, and consequences. (Routledge Series on Political Violence.) London and New York: Routledge.
Chakma, B. (2020) “South Asia’s international relations: a historical overview”. In her South Asian regionalism: The Limits of Cooperation, 17–38. Bristol: Bristol University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1332/policypress/9781529205152.003.0002
Clary, C. (2022) “Russia-Pakistan relations and the constraints of geoeconomics”. Asian Survey 62, 5-6, 1–28.
https://doi.org/10.1525/as.2022.1801312
Ganguly, S. (2021) Mending fences: confidence- and security-building measures in South Asia. Abingdon: Routledge.
Hoffman, A. M. (2024) “Terrorism and publicity”. In The Routledge companion to terrorism studies: new perspectives and topics. Abingdon: Routledge.
Jahanzaib, M. (2024) “Central Asian republics – Pakistan relations in a shifting world: a neoliberal perspective”. Journal of Politics and International Studies 10, 1, 109–127.
https://jpis.pu.edu.pk/45/article/view/1362
Jacobson, J. (2023) When the Soviet Union entered world politics. Oakland, CA: University of California Press.
https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.8501190
Kayhan, H. U. (2017) Greater Central Asia and the evolution of Central Asian Islamic militancy: an analysis of regional approaches in Central Asian security. Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis. Ankara: Middle East Technical University. Available online at
https://open.metu.edu.tr/handle/11511/26800
Accessed on 16 July 2025.
Korolev, A. (2019) “On the verge of an alliance: Contemporary China-Russia military cooperation”. Asian Security 15, 3, 233–252.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14799855.2018.1463991
Khan, D. M. A., D. A. A. Dashti, and D. U. Siraj (2023) “Pakistan and Russia: past and present shift in regional dynamics”. Journal of Positive School Psychology 7, 2, 639–648. Available online at
https://journalppw.com/index.php/jpsp/article/view/15669
Accessed on 16 July 2025.
Khan, G. J. (2021) “Russia-Pakistan military exercises (2016): implications for Pakistan’s security”. Herald of the Russian Academy of Sciences 91, 6, 708–723.
https://doi.org/10.1134/s1019331621060137
Kydd, A. H. and B. F. Walter (2006) “The strategies of terrorism”. International Security 31, 1, 49–80.
https://doi.org/10.1162/isec.2006.31.1.49
Kaushiki, N. (2019) “Factors contributing to an emerging Russia-Pakistan strategic proximity”. Journal of International and Area Studies26, 1, 43–64.
Lutz, B. (2019) Global terrorism. Abingdon: Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351124683
Marsden, M. (2024) “Beyond long-distance nationalism: Khorasan and the re-imagination of Afghanistan”. Comparative Studies in Society and History 67, 1, 1–26.
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0010417524000318
Montasari, R. (2024) “Exploring the current landscape of cyberterrorism: insights, strategies, and the impact of COVID-19”. In his Cyberspace, cyberterrorism and international security in the fourth industrial revolution: threats, assessment and responses, 65–90. Cham: Springer International Publishing.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-50454-9_5
Muraviev, A. D. (2022) “Russia’s views on and initial responses to the 2021 strategic retake of Afghanistan by the Taliban”. Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs 9, 3, 424–445.
https://doi.org/10.1177/23477970221133145
Niiazbek Kyzy, A. (2021) Drivers of violent extremism in Central Asian states: a comparative analysis. Diplomová práce, vedoucí Aslan, Emil. Praha: Univerzita Karlova, Fakulta sociálních věd, Katedra bezpečnostních studií.
Qazi, R. R. K. and S. Bashir (2022) “Strategic Engagement as means of conflict prevention: Pakistan’s defence diplomacy towards Russia”. Central Asia 90, 1–18.
https://doi.org/10.54418/ca-90.167
Rasool, M. and M. A. Zaheer (2024) Regional dynamics and counterterrorism: Pakistan-Russia collaboration in Central Asia. SM-IR. Available online at
https://doi.org/10.12688/stomiedintrelat.17830.1
https://internationalrelations-publishing.org/articles/4-11
Accessed on 16 July 2025.
Rubab, Dr. M., Z. Ali, and M. S. Arif (2024) “US-Russia rivalry in the 21st century: New Cold War and Russian resurgence in the changing global power dynamics”. Spry Contemporary Educational Practices 3, 1, 577–583.
https://doi.org/10.62681/sprypublishers.scep/3/1/31
Samad, O. (2023) “The 2021 collapse: lessons learned from a century of upheavals and Afghanistan’s foreign policy vortex”. In: A. Farhadi and A. Masys, eds. The Great Power competition. Vol 4, 415–444. Cham: Springer.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22934-3_21
Sullivan, C. J. (2022) “Afghanistan in anarchy: America’s withdrawal, Taliban rule and regional implications for Central Asia”. Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs 9, 3, 513–530.
https://doi.org/10.1177/23477970221129908
Stone, A. N. (2021) Ally, enemy or something else? How and why the United States drone program implementation and operation in Pakistan changed their relationship. Thesis. University of Calgary.
Sheikh, Z., A. Saeed, and A. Elahi (2024) “The United States and Pakistan’s bilateral relations”. Inter-national Peace and SDGs Perspectives 1, 001, 1–25. Available online at
https://journals.internationalpeaceleaders.com/IPSP/article/view/4
Accessed on 8 August 2025.
Stepanova, E. (2020) “Russia’s response to terrorism in the twenty-first century”. In M. J. Boyle, ed. Non-Western responses to terrorism, 23–54. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
https://doi.org/10.7765/9781526157102.00010
Stepanova, E. (2022) “Russia, Central Asia and non-traditional security threats from Afghanistan following the US withdrawal”. Global Policy 13, 1, 138–145.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.13058
Theros, M. (2023) “Knowledge, power and the failure of US peacemaking in Afghanistan 2018–2021”. International Affairs 99, 3, 1231–1252.
https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiad092
Walt, S. M. (1987) The origins of alliances. (Cornell Studies in Security Affairs.) Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press.
Yaqub, M. (2025) “Geo-political realignment: the evolution of Pak-Russia strategic partnership”. International Journal of Human and Society 4, 3, 412–424.
https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5019316
Zhang, C. (2022) “China’s emergence and development challenges that China faces in Central Asia”. Asian Review of Political Economy 1, 10.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s44216-022-00005-7
