Russia’s oil supply to Pakistan was not a charity but part of a mutually beneficial agreement, said Russian Ambassador to Pakistan Danila Ganich on Tuesday.

“This is not charity. If we supply [oil], that means we are making a profit,” he said while responding to a question from Aaj News’s Shaukat Piracha regarding discounted prices for oil supply to Pakistan. “If you [Pakistan] buy that means it is mutually beneficial.”

The arrival of the second shipment of Russian oil was the topic of discussion on the Aaj News show Faisal Aap Ka.

Russian ship Clyde Noble carrying 55,000 tonnes crude oil docked at Karachi port on Tuesday. Earlier, the first Russian ship carrying crude oil arrived in Pakistan on June 11, 2023, the Pure Point reached Karachi port with a load of Russian oil.

Ambassador Ganich said that the relationship between Pakistan and Russia was “wonderful”. Even during the Cold War, he claimed that Pakistanis were friendly or at least neutral.

“Right now we are on the same boat. The Cold War is over and we are happy about it,” he stated, “the Russian oil supply to Pakistan will continue if it is beneficial for both countries.”

While talking about carrying forward the shared values of both countries, he said: “I think we should not carry them forward, because we already have them. This is not us who make some inventions. We have traditional values that family is man, wife and children, that is it. You cannot invent it”.

He called for connectivity between the two countries saying: “We should have different routes [between Pakistan and Russia]. We got to have connectivity.”

Without specifying, he said that Russia was working on several projects to increase connectivity with other Central Asian countries.

In the second part of the show, Ambassador of Nepal to Pakistan Tapas Adhikari, Pakistani mountaineers Sajid Ali Sadpara, Naila Kiani and Sirbaz Khan; and Nepali mountaineers Mingma Sherpa and Dawa Sherpa were the guests.

The ambassador said that most of the top 10 highest peaks were situated in Pakistan and Nepal. “These mountains attract foreign mountaineers and adventurers,” he added.

Kiani said that her mountaineering journey started by accident when she scaled a peak for an experience two years ago.

She has also climbed Mount Everest. Naila holds the record for being the first Pakistani female mountaineer to have scaled six peaks above 8,000 metres.

Nepal’s Mingma Sherpa said that the facilities in Pakistan were “satisfactory,” however, the visa issuance was a “hectic process”.

“It takes two to three months to get a [tourist] visa. If given relief on this matter, more tourists will come to Pakistan which will greatly benefit the country on the economic front,” he added.

Sajid Ali Sadpara, son of late Mohammad Ali Sadpara said that he went back to K2 and retrieved the body of his father and laid him to rest on the mountain.

He said that he climbed Nanga Parbat without the help of supplementary oxygen, which the international climbers’ community also recognised as a milestone.

Sirbaz Khan and Dawa Sherpa also spoke in the show and discussed their experiences and journeys in mountaineering.