I would urge the Pakistan government to immediately accept the offer and start the project.
MANCHESTER: This is with reference to your report of September 6 titled “Iran willing to build Pakistan section of gas pipeline”. I would urge the Pakistan government to immediately accept the offer and start the project so that the acute gas shortage that the country is currently experiencing can be tackled at least in the medium- to long-term.
As far as America is concerned, its record of looking after the interest of other countries is not very good. In the past, it vehemently opposed a gas pipeline that then Soviet Union built to supply gas to European countries, on the pretext that it was a security hazard for Nato member states.
Countries like Germany and Italy, however, ignored America’s pressure and went ahead and built the pipelines and secured their energy needs. Nothing dire happened and their ties with America weren’t, as future events showed, affected in any significant manner. We should also keep our national interest supreme and take up Iran’s offer.
Umar Khalid Dar
Published in The Express Tribune, September 8th, 2011.
