In 1980, the relationship took a dangerous turn, when Soviet press, notable "Pravda" and other Soviet commentators, began to issue threatening statements towards Pakistan.[35] Soviet Commentator, V Baikov, went far enough to say: The axis of United States and China, is trying to secure a base for its rapid deployment force, presumable offering F-16 fighter plans in that view."[35] Another Soviet commentator "threateningly" asked Pakistan that "If she (Pakistan) thought about where the United States was pulling it in its hostilities with Afghanistan; their aggression was taking place in the vicinity of the USSR".[35] In February 1980, a delegation of TASS in New York maintains that, "One can see the contours of dangerous plans aimed at Pakistan's arch rivals India, Soviet Union, and Afghanistan.[35] The change of administration in 1980 and immediate verbal threat of Soviet Union to Pakistan, brought the United States and Pakistan on a six-year trade, economic and military agreement, valuing approximately ~32.5 billions US dollars.[35]
The U.S. viewed the conflict in Afghanistan as an integral Cold War struggle, and the CIA provided assistance to anti-Soviet forces through the ISI, in a program called Operation Cyclone.[36][37] The siphoning off of aid weapons, in which the weapons logistics and coordination were put under the Pakistan Navy in the port city of Karachi, contributed to disorder and violence there, while heroin entering from Afghanistan to pay for arms contributed to addiction problems.[38] The Pakistan Navy coordinated the foreign weapons into Afghanistan, while some of its high-ranking admirals were responsible for storing the weapons in the Navy logistics depot, later coordinated the weapons supply to Mujaheddin, out of complete revenge of Pakistan Navy's brutal loss and defeat at the hands of Soviet Navy in 1971.[34]
In November 1982, General Zia traveled to the Soviet Union to attend the funeral of Leonid Brezhnev, then-General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.[39] Soviet President Andrei Gromyko and the new Secretary-General Yuri Andropov met with Zia where a brief meeting took place at the Kremlin.[39] The Soviet Union and the new Secretary General Yuri Andropov were angry at Pakistan's covert involvement in the support of Afghan resistance against the Soviet Union and her satellite state, Soviet Afghanistan, and expressed his indignation to the General.[39] Then General Zia took his hand and told him that, "Mr. Secretary General... Believe me, Pakistan wants nothing but good and healthy relations with the Soviet Union".[39] According to Andrei Gromyko, Zia's sincerity had caught off guards and in the meeting, everyone believed him but sadly found out that his words were not followed by his actions