Pakistan to reject United States reservations: Sources
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ISLAMABAD - Pakistan aims to complete the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project soon despite reservations of the United States, officials said.
The government has decided to send demarches to US, European Council and other related forums on the IP project, said the officials.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has already asked Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to resolve the irritants to complete the project.
For years, Pakistan and Iran have been working to complete the IP gas pipeline project soon to resolve Pakistan’s energy crisis. IP pipeline project - also called Peace Pipeline – is aimed at constructing pipeline from Iran’s South Pars fields in the Persian Gulf to Pakistan’s major cities of Karachi and Multan. The pipeline can carry 110 million cubic meters of gas a day. Iran will initially transfer 30 million cubic meters of gas per day to Pakistan but will eventually increase the gas transfer to 60 million cubic meters per day.
Foreign ministry officials said Iran had asked Pakistan “not to follow the United States” on the IP project. “They believe the US is stopping us (Pakistan) to move further on the project. We have tried to defuse this impression,” said an official.
Iran Ambassador to Pakistan Mehdi Honardoost said Iran had fulfilled its commitments regarding construction of gas pipeline in the Iranian section and was ready to start export of gas to Pakistan at the earliest in case of implementation of the commitments by Pakistan.
