Indian Army Calls Out US' Double-Speak; Throwback Report Shows Washington's Historic Support To Pakistan

New Delhi: Amid growing friction between Washington and New Delhi over India’s continued purchase of Russian oil, the Indian Army on Tuesday issued a sharp historical reminder, drawing attention to the United States’ past support to Pakistan during the 1971 war.

In a social media post titled “This Day That Year – Build Up of War – 05 Aug 1971 #KnowFacts”, the Army shared a newspaper clipping from August 5, 1971, highlighting how the US had supplied arms worth $2 billion to Pakistan since 1954. The post, captioned “This day, that year’s buildup of war, August 5, 1971,” underlined the long-standing tilt of the US towards Islamabad in the lead-up to the Indo-Pak war.

The article quoted then Defence Production Minister VC Shukla in the Rajya Sabha, who revealed that NATO powers and the Soviet Union had been consulted over Pakistan’s military buildup during its aggression in Bangladesh. While France and the USSR refused to provide any military assistance to Islamabad, the US and China had reportedly supplied weapons to Pakistan at “throwaway prices.” 

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) rejected US and EU allegations as “unjustified and unreasonable,” stating that India began importing oil from Russia only after traditional suppliers shifted focus to Europe following the Ukraine conflict. The MEA further pointed out that the United States had earlier encouraged such imports in the interest of maintaining global energy market stability.

The diplomatic exchange comes in the wake of a strong statement by US President Donald Trump, who, in a Truth Social post, accused India of buying “massive amounts of Russian oil” and profiting from reselling it, claiming that India “doesn’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine.” 

India, in its response, emphasised that energy imports are governed by its national interests and economic imperatives. “Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security,” the MEA said.

New Delhi also called out the West's double standards, citing continued large-scale trade by both the US and the EU with Russia. In 2024, the EU imported a record 16.5 million tonnes of LNG from Russia, and its total goods trade with Moscow reached €67.5 billion, with services worth €17.2 billion in 2023, figures significantly higher than India’s overall trade with Russia.

The US, meanwhile, continues to import critical resources from Russia, including uranium hexafluoride, palladium, fertilisers, and chemicals.