ISLAMABAD/KABUL – Moscow is pushing diplomatic and security engagement with both Pakistan and Afghanistan at a time of escalating tensions between Asian neighbors, raising questions about whether Kremlin is positioning itself as a regional power broker, or preparing for a more consequential role in South Asia’s shifting security landscape.
The recent visit to Kabul by chief of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergey Naryshkin, and a close associate of President Vladimir Putin, met Taliban intelligence chief Abdul Haq Wasiq and other senior officials, although neither side has publicly disclosed a detailed agenda for the discussions.
Two intelligence chiefs discussed key issues and exchanged views on bilateral matters. Some sources claimed that talks focused on strengthening bilateral relations and intelligence cooperation.
Naryshkin’s Kabul visit coincided with a official trip to Pakistan by Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, who held meetings with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Defence Staff General Asim Munir and other senior Pakistani leaders. Pakistan’s Interior Ministry described the trip as the first-ever visit to Pakistan by a Russian interior minister.
The timing of the two visits raised key question: Is Moscow attempting to engage both sides simultaneously to curb tensions, or is it pursuing a broader strategy to expand its influence across a region increasingly shaped by competing security interests?
Dr Khurram Iqbal, an associate professor at Quaid-i-Azam University’s National Institute of Intelligence and Security Studies, told BBC Urdu that Naryshkin’s visit should be understood within this wider regional context. He suggested that Russia could be exploring a mediating role by maintaining active contacts with both Islamabad and Kabul.
Such approach would give Moscow an opportunity to strengthen its diplomatic standing while attempting to address a potentially destabilising dispute between two neighbouring countries. However, there is no public confirmation that Naryshkin’s visit was specifically intended to broker an agreement between Pakistan and the Taliban government.
Russian diplomatic push comes in the aftermath of the eighth meeting of the Moscow Format on Afghanistan, held in the Russian capital on October 5. The annual consultations failed to produce a joint statement after Pakistani and Afghan Taliban officials were unable to reach agreement on several important issues. Russia subsequently expressed regret over the outcome.
The failure to issue a joint declaration highlighted the difficulties facing regional efforts to build consensus on Afghanistan’s security and political future. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said Moscow is prepared to help normalise relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan and reduce tensions between them.
Naryshkin’s subsequent visit to Kabul, combined with Kolokoltsev’s engagement in Islamabad, has therefore intensified speculation about whether Russia is seeking to revive diplomatic momentum through direct contacts with both sides.
Earlier this year, Taliban Defence Minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid explained that a security agreement with Russia concerned the maintenance of Russian military equipment and weapons already held by Afghanistan. Taliban government subsequently announced in July that it had reached a security cooperation agreement with Moscow.
Moscow also invited military delegation affiliated with the Taliban’s Ministry of Defence to observe its 2026 military exercises, which were attended by President Putin. These developments suggest that relations between Moscow and Kabul are moving beyond political contacts towards more substantive security engagement.
Nevertheless, the precise scope of intelligence cooperation and the operational implications of the agreement remain unclear.
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