Iran gasline delay, Muslim League's foreign policy flaw: Pak senator

Talking to local media, Senator Sherry Rehman said the IP gas pipeline was ripe for completion from the PPP government’s active diplomacy especially via (former president) Asif Ali Zardari but the present government of Pakistan ignored it.

She said that among a line of foreign policy failures by ousted premier Nawaz Sharif’s government is the fact that Pakistan had to now pay a staggering amount as fine on a pipeline that would have brought gas to an energy-hungry Pakistan from Iran.

She said that Zardari had set it up with Iran in the last PPP-led government through diligent diplomacy with Tehran. “Had this vision been realized not only we would be getting gas from a neighbour but also creating a web of connectivity for an energy grid in the region,” she remarked.

Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan Mehdi Honardoost said Iran had fulfilled its commitments regarding construction of the 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.

He said no energy source could be a replacement of the IP gas pipeline for growing gas requirements of Pakistan.

“Especially in view of the implementation of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, Iranian gas will not only fulfill the gas requirements of Pakistan in the coming years rather its transit to China can also be considered,” he explained.

Pakistan however says that the IP project is still alive. Foreign Office Spokesperson Mohammed Faisal said that IP project had not been frozen. “To the best of my knowledge, the IP gas pipeline project is still on,” he said.

For years, Pakistan and Iran have been working to complete the gas pipeline project to resolve Pakistan’s energy crisis. The IP pipeline project - also called Peace Pipeline – is aimed at constructing a 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.

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