Amid Trump tariff threats, Indian Army's 1971 newspaper post takes dig at US over support to Pakistan
Amid escalating tensions between the US and India over Donald Trump's tariff threats, the Indian Army on Tuesday shared a clip of an old newspaper from 1971 showing how the United States has supported Pakistan for decades. The post by the Eastern Command of the Indian Army comes a day after President Donald Trump threatened India over its purchase of Russian oil, saying he will substantially raise tariffs on goods from India.
The clip dated back to August 5, 1971. It showed how the US was supplying arms to Pakistan for decades in the buildup for the 1971 war. "This day, that year build up of war - August 5, 1971," the Indian Army captioned the post.
What's written in the clip?
The newspaper clip features a headline in bold, capital letters: “US ARMS WORTH $2 BILLION SHIPPED TO PAKISTAN SINCE ’54”.
The news clip mentions the developments during a Rajya Sabha session in 1971, months before India went to war with Pakistan. The war eventually led to the creation of Bangladesh in December of that year.
It also mentions the then defence production minister VC Shukla telling the Rajya Sabha about how the NATO powers and the Soviet Union had been contacted over the arms supply to Pakistan in the backdrop of Islamabad's armed aggression in Bangladesh. While the Soviet Union and the French government had denied supplying arms to Pakistan, the US continued its support, the report says.
The adds that both the US and China sold arms to Pakistan at “throwaway prices”, indicating that Pakistan may have fought the 1971 war with India with weapons provided by the two countries.
How India reacted to Donald Trump's tariff threat
Earlier, US President Trump said his administration would substantially raise tariffs on India. "India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian oil, they are then, for much of the oil purchased, selling it on the open market for big profits," he said in a social media post.
"They don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine," he said.
India mounted an unusually sharp counterattack on the US and the European Union for their "unjustified and unreasonable" targeting of New Delhi for its procurement of Russian crude oil.
Firmly rejecting the criticism, India pointed out the double standards in targeting it on the issue and said both the US and the EU are continuing their trade relations with Russia.
"Unlike our case, such trade is not even a vital national compulsion," the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said.
The Europe-Russia trade includes not just energy, but also fertilizers, mining products, chemicals, iron and steel, and machinery and transport equipment, the MEA said in a late-evening statement.
"Where the US is concerned, it continues to import from Russia uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear industry, palladium for its EV industry, fertilizers as well as chemicals," it added.
"In this background, the targeting of India is unjustified and unreasonable. Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security," the MEA said.
It said India has been "targeted" by the US and the EU for importing oil from Russia after the commencement of the Ukraine conflict.
In fact, India began importing from Russia because traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the conflict, it said.
"The US at that time actively encouraged such imports by India for strengthening global energy markets stability," the MEA said, adding India's imports are meant to ensure predictable and affordable energy costs to the Indian consumers.
"They are a necessity compelled by global market situation. However, it is revealing that the very nations criticizing India are themselves indulging in trade with Russia," it said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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