Feb 05 2010 |
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Majority in Pakistan wants China to join IP project
Islamabad - Keeping in view the importance of Pak-Iran gas pipeline project for the region, majority in Pakistan believes that the project would be more useful if China joins it. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki talking to a group of Pakistan journalists has indicated that China might join the Pak-Iran gas pipeline project very soon.Pakistani analysts say that the project due to its importance for the region would further strengthen Pak-Iran brotherly ties.
They are of the view that the project could have a far reaching impact if India and China join it.
It is widely believed in Pakistan that the IP project would promote regional cooperation and open new avenues of interaction.
Earlier Pakistan said that China had expressed its desire to join the muliti billion dollar Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project.
Pakistan is currently facing an acute energy shortage and majority in Pakistan believes that the issue could be resolved if Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project is completed on the priority basis.
People in Pakistan say Iran has surplus gas and in future there would be a shortage of natural gas in Pakistan and this project would be very helpful in overcoming that shortage.
The IP project was proposed in 1990 hoping that it will support both Pakistan and India who lack adequate natural gas to meet their rapidly booming domestic demand for energy.
India stopped negotiations on the project due to tension with Pakistan, although Iran repeatedly encouraged New Delhi to rejoin the process.
However India has denied reports that it has quit plans to build a gas pipeline with Iran and Pakistan.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari inked a $7.5 billion agreement in Tehran on May 23, finalizing the deal to transfer gas from Iran to Pakistan.
According to the deal, Iran will initially transfer 30 million cubic meters of gas per day to Pakistan, but will eventually increase the transfer to 60 million cubic meters per day.
The pipeline will be supplied from the South Pars field. The initial capacity of the pipeline will be 22 bcm of natural gas per annum, which is expected to be raised later to 55 bcm.
In January, the United States asked Pakistan to abandon its plan of receiving natural gas from Iran in order to isolate Iran.
US Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke, during his meeting with Petroleum Minister Syed Naveed Qamar, said Pakistan would have to abandon its pipeline accord with Tehran in order to qualify for extensive American energy assistance especially for importing Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and electricity.
The US told Pakistan that if it cancels its plan of importing gas from Iran through pipeline, the United States would help Pakistan import electricity from Tajikistan through Afghanistan's Wakhan corridor. Pakistan has yet to consider the offer.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has blamed the US for trying to sabotage the gas pipeline project and said, "Growing relations between US and India should not affect the relations of India with other countries of the region."
He was confident that Pakistan would not hesitate to start the gas pipeline project despite the US pressure. He said, "We must not allow any third country to interfere in the bilateral relations of Iran and Pakistan."
Earlier Pakistani Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Abdul Basit had said that there is absolutely no pressure on Pakistan to cancel the gas pipeline deal with Iran.
"Iran is our brotherly Muslim neighbor, how could we cancel the deal knowing its importance for us, this is all fiction", Abdul Basit made it clear.
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