‘Wanted to get cheap Russian crude’, Imran Khan praised India’s foreign policy

Addressing the nation in a video message, he said, “We wanted to get cheap Russian crude oil like India but it could not happen because unfortunately my government fell due to no-confidence motion.”

He lamented the fact that crisis-hit Pakistan can also buy Russian crude oil at a subsidized rate, which India enjoys despite the Ukraine war.

Interestingly, this was not the first time that Khan acknowledged India’s achievements in growing its economy and buying Russian oil despite Western pressure.

In May 2022, Imran Khan Appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to buy cheap oil from Russia despite pressure from America.

India is the third largest oil consuming and importing country in the world. It imports 85 per cent of its crude oil requirement. Ever since the war between Russia and Ukraine, the West and Europe have imposed tight sanctions on its energy. This resulted in Russia offering more concessions to its oldest ally India.

Sanctions hit Russia signed a deal with an Indian oil giant with the intention of boosting the supply of crude oil. According to the Russian news agency TASS, Moscow’s top oil company Rosneft signed an agreement with the Indian Oil Company to increase the supply of petroleum to India.

The deal, which has been in the works for months, could ease some of Pakistan’s fiscal woes as the country, a net importer of energy, looks for ways to cut its oil import bill.

talks going on between Pakistan and Russia ANI reported that the trade of oil had remained a contentious issue in Pakistan’s politics since last year.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has repeatedly claimed that his government was ousted for pursuing an “independent foreign policy” that would have allowed the country to buy oil from Russia at a subsidized price, just like India.

(With ANI inputs)