'They may have some illusions': Tharoor mocks Trump's oil claim with Pakistan, says 'I wish them luck'

NEW DELHI: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday mocked US President Donald Trump ’s claim of a deal with Pakistan to develop "massive oil reserves," saying the Americans may be under an illusion.

“Let them look,” Tharoor remarked, adding, “I wish them luck.”

Trump had announced on Truth Social that the US had concluded a trade deal with Pakistan and would work with the country to explore its "massive oil reserves", a claim that raised eyebrows given the lack of known large-scale oil discoveries in the region.

“We are in the process of choosing the oil company that will lead this partnership,” Trump said. “Who knows, maybe they’ll be selling oil to India some day!”

Reacting to the announcement, Tharoor said, “They may have some illusions about finding oil in Pakistan. We were all one country once, but I’ve not seen any report that there was a great deal of oil to be found in what is today Pakistan.”

He added, “Let them do what they want with other countries; what matters to me is what they do with our country.”

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the development, calling it a “historic” agreement and expressing hope that it would deepen ties between Islamabad and Washington.

Despite Pakistan’s claims of untapped oil potential along its coastline, the country continues to rely heavily on imports to meet its energy needs.