Oil imports: Mistrust hounds plan to import fuel from India

Over-reliance on India for strategic products could imperil security.


Zafar Bhutta May 30, 2012

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has refused to import jet fuel from India citing security reasons, The Express Tribune has learnt.

The mistrust between the neighbours still seems to prevail and Pakistan is reluctant to place its reliance on India for strategically important products. Instead, the Pakistani establishment maintains there is a need to engage Gulf countries in oil imports, sources say.

“Pakistan refused to import diesel from India in a two-day meeting which concluded on Tuesday as it has a long-term supply contract with Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC),” said an official source privy to the matter.

“If Pakistan relies on India for high-speed diesel and jet fuel, there is a threat to the country’s security if supplies are withheld for any reason.”

The official added that India is keen on providing all the mentioned products to Pakistan and expressed its desire to lay an oil pipeline connecting the two countries.

On the other hand, a senior official from the ministry of petroleum said that Pakistan has not refused to import diesel from India. He maintained that Pakistan has expressed the desire to import furnace oil, diesel and petrol from its neighbour, adding “we have surplus jet fuel and thus we do not want to import that from India.” “We want India to export diesel through Karachi and furnace oil and petrol via the Wagah border to meet the requirements of Punjab.” He added that the commerce ministry has been directed to look into the required infrastructure in this regard.

According to the official, functionaries from both states will meet again in the first half of July in New Delhi to finalise the quantity as well as prices of the products.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 30th, 2012.

COMMENTS (24)

G. Din | 11 years ago | Reply

@John B: "...contrary to your perception Indo-US ties are never at the expense of the other, past and now. " Likewise! We would not want it any other way! We, Indians, do not believe in "enemies", much less in "enemies of enemies". Indo-US ties, in my perception, are quite close at their core because of our common affinities, aspirations, our love for Democracy and Freedoms, for pursuit of curiosity and excellence etc.. So, when President Kennedy rushed military aid to India post-haste after our perfidious "Bhai" (brother to the North) had plunged a dagger in Nehru's back, it did not surprise me. We may be feeding the world now but we have not forgotten how US practically fed us by supplying wheat under PL480 for years and then showed immense graciousness when President Johnson wrote off all the costs of that aid, a gargantuan amount in Indian rupees. We Indians, fresh out of colonialism, were a prickly lot then and had made sure that President Johnson returned home from his visit to India, thoroughly irked. It is because of that core strength that Indo-US ties have endured through some very trying times and shall always endure!

Blackbirdz | 11 years ago | Reply

i think we r going 2 b too much dependend on them which is not right in a long run also the indian were pointing out again n again that they dont want 2 b dependend on us on energy sector when we were talking abt IPI......keeping this in mind i think we should also not get carried away

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