Pakistan to Talk Gas Pipe with Iran Next Month

A Pakistani delegation is due to visit Iran early April to discuss the much-delayed Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline, according to Fars News Agency.

"Pakistan's negotiating team has been given complete freedom to negotiate the volume, time and mode of gas imports from Iran and reach a final conclusion," a source told the Iranian news agency March 26.

Although Pakistan looks keen to complete the pipeline, it has not been able to do so because of US sanctions on Iran. Pakistan has not been able to build the pipeline on its soil due to lack of funding. Iran has already built 900 km of the pipeline on its territory while Pakistan still has to start work on the pipeline from its border.

There have been reports in Pakistani media that Islamabad is seeking funds for the project from Beijing. However, nothing concrete has come out yet.

Meanwhile, an Indian parliamentary committee on oil and natural gas recently said that India should look at reviving the long-delayed Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project given the changed international environment. India had pulled out of the IPI project in 1999 citing security reasons.

Shardul Sharma