Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has revealed he did try to ink a deal to purchase discounted crude oil from Russia, but couldn't achieve the objective because he lost power in a no-confidence vote in April 2022.
"We wanted to get cheap Russian crude oil just like India but that it could not happen as, unfortunately, my government fell due to a no-confidence motion," the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and opposition leader, said in a video address on Sunday.
India One of Main Beneficiares of Russian Crude
After Moscow launched its special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022 and western nations slapped sanctions on the country, New Delhi took notice of the geopolitical tensions and ramped up its purchases of Russian oil to later become a major importer of Russian crude.
India's oil imports from Russia hit an all-time high in March as the country's refiners imported 1.64 million barrels per day during the previous month. Notably, India's imports from Russia are double of what the country has been importing from Iraq, India's traditional top petroleum supplier.
Since October, Russia has emerged as New Delhi's top oil supplier for six straight months. This is in complete contrast to India's purchases before Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine.
Before February 2022, the share of Russian crude in India's imports was less than 1 percent which has now jumped to nearly 35 percent as of March 2023.
Imran Khan Praises India's Foreign Policy Savvy
This is not the first time Khan has lauded India's independent foreign policy that is guided by the county's national interests. The latter was the primary reason behind shunning Western pressure to buy cheap Russian oil.
In May last year, Khan hailed India for buying Russian oil despite repeated warnings from US President Joe Biden's US administration.
"Despite being part of the Quad, India withstood US pressure and bought cheap oil from Russia to facilitate its people," he tweeted at the time.
Khan's latest comments about Russian oil come at a time Pakistan is in the midst of a worsening economic crisis.
With depleted foreign reserves and a free-falling currency that hit an all-time low of PKR 288 against the US dollar recently, the cash-strapped nation is in desperate need of fresh funds from global money lending agencies.
But talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a fresh tranche of $1.1 billion have remained stalled for months.
But talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a fresh tranche of $1.1 billion have remained stalled for months.