Imran Khan swayed by India's foreign policy; plays clip of EAM Jaishankar at Lahore rally

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was once again all praises for India as he hailed External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for standing up to US pressure over buying oil from Russia. 

Khan, while addressing his supporters on the eve of Pakistan's Independence Day, played a clip of Dr S Jaishankar's scathing response to western criticism of India's oil purchase from Russia. The video dated back to June when Jaishankar made the remarks at the GLOBSEC 2022 Bratislava Forum in Slovakia. 

Responding to a question on whether India’s oil imports from Russia were not funding the Ukraine war, Jaishankar had said, “If India buying Russian oil is funding the war, then is Europe buying Russian gas not funding the war? Is it only Indian money that funds the war and not Europe's? Let’s be a little even-handed..”

The minister made the remarks while defending India’s oil imports from Russia and underlined that Ukraine conflict was also impacting the developing countries.

True example of free nation: Imran Khan on India

Playing the clip before a huge gathering in Lahore, Imran Khan said,  " I want to show you Foreign Ministers of two countries. First, the Indian Foreign Minister who was ordered by the US to not buy oil from Russia. India is a strategic ally to the US, we don't have any alliance with the US. But they (India) did not deter from saying that they will continue to buy oil from wherever they want. This is the example of a free nation."

Criticising the present Pakistan government, the former PM said "the imported dispensation has no courage to buy cheaper oil from Russia. Today the price of petrol and diesel is touching skies."

Watch the video

This is not the first time Imran Khan has showered praises on India's foreign policy. In may too, Khan had praised India for buying discounted oil from Russia despite being a key member of a US-led QUAD alliance. 

“Despite being part of the QUAD, India sustained pressure from the US and bought discounted Russian oil to provide relief to the masses. This is what our government was working to achieve with the help of an independent foreign policy,” the former PM had tweeted.