Russian Embassy Slams Pakistan’s Frontier Post for ‘Anti-Russia’ Articles Amid Efforts to Strengthen Bilateral Ties

Islamabad: The Russian Embassy in Pakistan has sharply criticised The Frontier Post, a Peshawar-based daily, accusing it of publishing a “series of anti-Russian articles” that allegedly promote “Western propaganda” against Moscow. The diplomatic spat has emerged even as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif seeks to strengthen Pakistan’s ties with Russia — a balancing act complicated by global geopolitical alignments.

According to a statement issued by the Russian Embassy on Thursday, the newspaper’s international news division operates under the “influence of an American editorial team” based in Washington, which consistently prioritises “Russophobes and critics of Russian foreign policy.” The Embassy claimed that the publication had not carried even a single neutral or positive article about Russia or its leadership in recent months.

“Recently, not one article depicting Russia or its leadership in a positive or even neutral light could be found in the paper’s international section,” the statement said. “The surge of anti-Russian content echoing Western propaganda narratives, combined with the absence of alternative viewpoints, raises serious questions about whether the editorial policy is rooted in freedom of expression or political bias,” it added.

The Embassy also rebuked The Frontier Post for completely ignoring the “Moscow Format” consultations on Afghanistan held on October 7 — a key multilateral dialogue that was extensively covered by other regional media outlets. Despite maintaining a dedicated section on Afghanistan, the publication reportedly failed to report on the event, which Moscow viewed as a deliberate omission.

“This approach further underscores the Russophobic nature of a Westernised editorial office,” the Embassy remarked, alleging that the newspaper routinely amplifies Western narratives portraying Russia’s economy as “weak” and “vulnerable to sanctions.”

Calling such portrayals “baseless,” the Embassy said:

“These are strange indicators for a supposedly collapsing economy,” it stated sarcastically, referring to Russia’s continued resilience amid global sanctions.

The controversy comes at a delicate diplomatic juncture. On September 2, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. Sharif had expressed respect for Moscow’s relationship with India and voiced his desire to build similarly constructive ties with Russia.

However, the Embassy’s latest remarks reveal underlying tensions and sensitivities in the Pakistan–Russia relationship — suggesting that while Islamabad’s leadership is reaching out to Moscow, domestic media narratives influenced by Western alignments continue to pose diplomatic challenges.