Islamabad Committed to Iran Pipe: Minister
Pakistan is keen to resume work on the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipe that will transport Iranian gas to energy-starved Pakistan, country’s petroleum and natural resources minister Ghulam Sarwar said September 12.
“Pakistan [is] fully committed to implement IP gas pipeline project without any foreign pressure,” Sarwar said. “The IP gas project is top priority for Pakistan - more than any other gas pipeline project.”
Sarwar met with Iranian ambassador to Pakistan Mehdi Honardoost to discuss energy cooperation, especially the stalled IP gas pipeline. According to Pakistani media reports last month, a delegation from Iran was ready to come to Pakistan early last month, but the then Pakistani caretaker government believed that the decisions on the IP project should be made by the next elected government. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, led by Imran Khan, emerged as the largest party in the election held in July and was sworn in in August.
The IP pipeline has been stalled for more than two years due to American pressure on Pakistan.
The Iranian section of the pipeline has already been built while Pakistan has yet to lay 781 km of the pipeline on its soil. In February, Iran's oil minister Bijan Zanganeh said Pakistan had deferred Iranian gas imports for so long that Tehran is considering referring Islamabad to the international arbitration court. As per the agreement signed between the two nations, Pakistan should have started taking 22mn m3/d (8bn m3/yr) of Iranian gas imports in January 2015, the line having been completed the month before. Pakistan and Iran have already agreed to review the gas sales purchase agreement signed in 2009.
Sarwar September 12 said he has accepted Honardoost’s invitation to visit Iran. Sarwar said that, prior to that visit, he and the ambassador had agreed to have a IP gas pipeline working group meeting.