Amid Trump's Tariff Threat, Indian Army Digs Out Old Newspaper Post to Highlight US Hypocrisy

The Eastern Command of the Indian Army has shared a historical document highlighting the longstanding pattern of US military support to Pakistan.

Indian Army Takes A Dig

It has posted an old newspaper clipping dated August 5, 1971, which revealed how the US had been supplying arms to Pakistan for decades, particularly during the lead-up to the 1971 war.

The article includes the response of then Defence Production Minister VC Shukla in the Rajya Sabha, where he stated that "all NATO powers and Soviet Union have been contacted regarding to arms supply to Pakistan because Pakistan had by then started its armed aggression in Bangladesh against freedom fighters."

Shukla clarified that the Soviet Union had refused to supply weapons to Pakistan and that "the French government even stated that they won't even make deliveries against old orders by Pakistan." However, the US government continued its arms supplies to Pakistan.

He also pointed out that "the USA and China have both been selling arms to Pakistan at throwaway prices," emphasizing that the genocide in Bangladesh and the war against India were fought by Pakistan using weapons provided at cheap rates by the US and China.

The timing of the post is notable - it comes amid recent criticism from the US over India's imports of Russian oil, with Washington accusing New Delhi of "funding the war against Ukraine." The Eastern Command's post acts as a reminder of Cold War-era duplicity, highlighting that the US and EU themselves continue their trade ties with Russia despite the ongoing conflict.

Back in 1971, Pakistan had already launched Operation Searchlight - a brutal military crackdown against Bengali freedom fighters in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The Bangladesh Liberation War officially began on March 25 that year. With mounting atrocities in the region, India joined the war on December 3, 1971, offering support to the Mukti Bahini and launching a full-scale military campaign that ended in just 13 days.

The war culminated in a decisive victory for India and the birth of Bangladesh, with over 93,000 Pakistani troops surrendering on December 16, 1971.

US Slashes Tariffs on Pakistan, Escalates Trade Tensions with India

The US, meanwhile, has continued to maintain a lenient stance towards Pakistan. In his latest push to reshape global trade policies, Donald Trump signed an executive order just before the August 1 trade deal deadline, raising tariffs on dozens of countries. However, Pakistan saw its tariffs reduced - from 29 per cent to 19 per cent.

At the same time, Trump turned up the heat on India over its Russian oil purchases. In another post on Truth Social, Trump issued a renewed threat to impose steep tariffs on Indian goods.

"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. They don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA," Trump said.

India, however, strongly responded to Trump's remarks. The Ministry of External Affairs reminded the US that "when it began importing from Russia after the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict, the US 'actively encouraged such imports'." The ministry also pushed back against the European Union for targeting Indian refiners while continuing trade with Russia itself.

According to the Indian government, the country's imports are "a necessity compelled by the global market situation," whereas the nations accusing it of profiteering "are themselves indulging in trade with Russia even when such trade is not even a vital compulsion."

In its official statement, the ministry laid out trade statistics: "The European Union in 2024 had a bilateral trade of Euro 67.5 billion in goods with Russia. In addition, it had trade in services estimated at Euro 17.2 billion in 2023. This is significantly more than India's total trade with Russia that year or subsequently. European imports of LNG in 2024, in fact, reached a record 16.5mn tonnes, surpassing the last record of 15.21mn tonnes in 2022. Europe-Russia trade includes not just energy, but also fertilisers, mining products, chemicals, iron and steel and machinery and transport equipment,"