The Indian Army on Tuesday posted an old newspaper clipping from 1971, indirectly taking aim at the United States for its decades-long support of Pakistan.

The post, shared by the Army’s Eastern Command on social media, was captioned: “This day, that year build up of war - August 5, 1971.” The clip highlighted how the U.S. had continued supplying weapons to Pakistan in the lead-up to the 1971 India-Pakistan war.

The move came just a day after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to hike tariffs on Indian goods over New Delhi’s continued imports of Russian oil.

According to the shared clipping, then Defence Production Minister V.C. Shukla had told Parliament that the Indian government had raised concerns with NATO nations and the Soviet Union over arms being sent to Pakistan during the Bangladesh conflict.

The Soviet Union and France had denied supplying any weapons, but the U.S. had kept up its support for Islamabad. The report also noted that China and the U.S. were selling arms to Pakistan at "throwaway prices”, suggesting that Pakistan may have fought the 1971 war using foreign-supplied weapons.

In a new executive order aimed at reshaping global trade, Donald Trump raised tariffs on many countries, but made an exception for Pakistan. Tariffs on Pakistani goods were reduced from 29% to 19%, while other nations saw sharp hikes.

At the same time, Trump targeted India, warning of steep new tariffs in response to its oil trade with Russia.

“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 posted on Truth Social.

The Ministry of External Affairs reminded the U.S. that when India began importing oil from Russia during the Ukraine war, it was doing so with Washington’s encouragement.

India also countered criticism from the European Union, noting that several EU countries continued trade with Russia even in non-essential sectors.

The Foreign Ministry stated that India’s imports from Russia were driven by global market needs. It also shared trade figures to show how other nations were still doing business with Moscow.

“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,” the ministry said.

It added that Europe’s LNG imports from Russia hit a new record of 16.5 million tonnes in 2024, up from 15.21 million tonnes in 2022. European trade also included fertilisers, metals, machinery, and chemicals, the statement said.

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