'This Day That Year Build Up of War', the post was captioned.
Credit: X/@easterncomd
New Delhi: Amidst the ongoing India-US friction, the Indian Army on Tuesday shared a 50 year old newspaper clip on the US government’s two billion dollar military aid to Pakistan over the years.
The clip was shared by the army’s Eastern Command that released it in X, Facebook and Instagram handles of the Indian Army. The subtle messaging received a thumbs up from some of the veterans active on social media.
The news report with a headline “US Arms Worth $ 2 billion Shipped to Pakistan Since 54” quoted V C Shukla, then Minister for Defence Production, who was responding to queries in the Rajya Sabha. Shukla gave the response in the Parliament in June 1971, a few months before the Indo-Pak war that led to the birth of Bangladesh.
According to the report, Shukla told CPI leader Bhupesh Gupta, “Our estimate of the value of US arms shipments to Pakistan since they entered into arms pact in 1954 was $ 2 billion.”
Lt Gen K J S Dhillion (rtd), former GOC of Srinagar-based 15 Corps was one of the first to appreciate the subtle messaging from India’s side.
Shukla had informed the Upper House that both China and the USA supplied Pakistan with arms at concessional rates or throw away prices while the French sold them (Pakistan) against hard cash with no concession.
The Soviet government denied reports of supplying military hardware to Pakistan while France informed India towards the end of June 1971 that Paris would not be delivering even against old contracts, according to the report.
The messaging from New Delhi comes at a time when the US administration has imposed heavy tariffs on Indian goods exported to America with President Donald Trump claiming to put more tariffs on Indian products.
On the other hand, there is a resurgence of bonhomie between USA and Pakistan in recent weeks with Trump inviting Pakistan’s powerful Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir to a private lunch at the White House. Munir, in turn, nominated Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize.