India May Rejoin IP Gas Pipeline project

India is contemplating about re-joining the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project and thus revive the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline project, media reports said.

An Indian diplomat told Online that the country had never abandoned the project, officially. “It was just gone down on the priority list mainly due to security concerns in Pakistan,” he added.

According to the diplomat, the announcement to give effect to the rejuvenation of IPI was expected during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Pakistan in the near future. Singh had accepted President Asif Ali Zardari’s invitation on Sunday to visit Pakistan on mutually convenient dates.

However, Iranians have realised that India went out of the IPI due to the pressure from the US and was anxiously pursuing the American backed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) project.

Iran has also gone on record saying that it was no longer holding talks with India on IPI pipeline but has signed a bilateral accord with Pakistan on the project.

Under the deal finalised in March last year, Iran will supply 750 million cubic feet of gas to Pakistan daily by 2014.