Once again hailing India for its foreign policy, Imran Khan said Islamabad too wanted to buy crude oil from Russia at discounted rates like India, but failed. Khan released a video message for Pakistan, wherein he also spoke of how his government collapsed.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has once again lauded India's foreign policy, in reference to buying cheap crude oil from Russia. In a video address to Pakistan, Khan said that Islamabad wanted to get cheap Russian crude oil just like India. However, failed.
"Islamabad wanted to get cheap Russian crude oil just like India, but was not able to do so as my government collapsed in a no-confidence motion," the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief said.
At present, Pakistan is reeling under the worst-ever economic crisis.
The Pakistani rupee in recent months has seen a dramatic erosion in its value to the US dollar, currently trading at around PKR 288 in the open market.
In the month of Ramzan, buying fruits to break the fast has become a luxury for millions across the country.
Imran Khan was the first Pakistani Prime Minister to visit Moscow in the past 23 years. However, he could not broker any deal that could bring relief to the cash-strapped country.
Imran Khan was in Russia the day Putin initiated a military operation in Ukraine.
In February, PTI quoted Russian Ambassador to India, Denis Alipov, and reported that Moscow wants to expand its economic engagement with Islamabad as it believes a "weak" Pakistan will not be better for the region, including India and Afghanistan.
Later, the Russian envoy, in a tweet, clarified that what he meant was that a destabilised Pakistan is not in the interest of any country in the region.
Alipov also said that Russia had taken "very close notice" of the reports that Pakistan was sending military equipment to Ukraine.
IMRAN KHAN HAILED INDIA ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS
Interestingly, this was not the first time that Khan acknowledged India's achievements in terms of growing its economy and purchasing Russian oil despite Western pressure.
In September 2022, Imran Khan slammed former PM Nawaz Sharif over his properties worth billions.
In turn, he hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said, "No other leader except Nawaz in the world has properties worth billions. Tell me about one country whose Premier or leader has billions worth of properties outside the country. Even in our neighbouring country, how many properties does PM Modi has outside India?"
Before that, in May 2022, Imran Khan hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to purchase cheap oil from Russia despite pressure from the United States.
"Despite being part of the Quad, India withstood US pressure and bought cheap oil from Russia to facilitate its people," tweeted Imran, adding, "Our government was trying to achieve this through an independent foreign policy."
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