Delays in Iran-Pakistan pipeline due to money, not US: Foreign office

Pakistan regrets provocative statement by Indian army chief.

ISLAMABAD: With the multi-billion dollar gas pipeline with Iran continuing to stall, the foreign office on Thursday refuted the notion that the project had stalled due to pressure from the US.

During the weekly press briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said that the I-P pipeline remains a bilateral issue.

The progress on pipeline has been slow because of the funding issues and not because of the US the spokesperson explained.

Responding to another question, Aslam said that Pakistan and Iran already had an agreement over the pipeline and that there was no need for a new agreement.

There may be an adjustment of the timeline but that does not require a new agreement the spokesperson said.

Asked whether the matter would be raised during the strategic dialogue scheduled for the end of January, the spokesperson said that while the pipeline will not be specifically on the agenda, she did not rule out any discussion on the topic.

Indian army chief’s comments

Pakistan termed as provocative recent comments by the Indian army chief over clashes at Line of Control.

Noting that the army has already issued a response, the foreign office spokesperson said that the Pakistan believes it was a regrettable statement.

It is provocative and unfortunate and as the DG ISPR has already pointed out, statements like these and claims of this sort tend to deteriorate the situation, the spokesperson said.

She added that Pakistan has always tried to maintain tranquility on the LoC and in this view the two Director General Military Operations had met.

We expect India to abide by the agreement.

Strategic Dialogue

The spokesperson confirmed that there would be a strategic dialogue review between Pakistan and the US towards the end of January which essentially encompasses all the aspects of Pakistan-US bilateral relations.

The dialogue at the ministerial level is expected to review the progress of those meetings with the larger spectrum of the regional situation also expected to come under discussion.