Bilawal to leave today on maiden Russian visit.

ISLAMABAD -- Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is scheduled to undertake a maiden visit to Russia today (Sunday) in a move highlighting Pakistan's push to maintain a close relationship with big powers.

'Foreign Minister Bilawal will undertake an official visit to Moscow at the invitation of Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov from January 29-30, 2023,' a statement issued by the Foreign Office on Saturday read.

The foreign minister, as per the statement, will hold official talks with his Russian counterpart where the two sides would deliberate upon the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.

The visit is seen as significant given the fact that former prime minister Imran Khan cited his push to deepen ties with Moscow as one of the reasons behind his ouster through an alleged US conspiracy.

Imran travelled to Moscow on a bilateral visit and met Russian President Vladimir Putin the day he ordered Russian forces to invade Ukraine. The former premier was convinced that he was punished for that visit and his intent to pursue an independent foreign policy.

Imran had said that Washington was not happy with his decision to visit Moscow in February as Putin was preparing to invade Ukraine. Hours before his meeting with Putin at the Kremlin, Russia had invaded Ukraine.

The ousted prime minister later claimed citing a diplomatic cable that the US had warned him that if a vote of no confidence did not succeed Pakistan would have to pay a heavy price.

Imran also claimed that he was ousted from power since he refused to take the US dictation on foreign policy issues.

The opposition alliance that voted him out...