Even though the US has invested significant amounts of money in the energy sector here, including towards building new dams and renovating old ones, it remains intractable in its refusal to consider the pipeline.
The US has also pushed for the TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) pipeline as an alternative to the Iranian pipeline. This is despite the fact that the TAPI pipeline would be even more prone to being sabotaged since it would run through Herat and Kandahar in Afghanistan and then pass through Balochistan. If a gas pipeline is the answer, then TAPI is less practical than the Iran pipeline.
Of course, Pakistan has to bear the brunt of US pressure on this if it wishes to import gas from Iran. And given its dependence on American aid, this may be a difficult decision by any measure. The US has been pressurising other countries not to cooperate with Iran, which is likely what led to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to back off from its previous commitment to fund the pipeline. The TAPI pipeline will, at the absolute earliest, become operational by 2016 and, in any case, may be too risky a project to take since it would be unclear what the security situation in Afghanistan would be by then. What is undeniable is that we have so thoroughly wasted our gas resources that our only solutions are to increase prices at home for the next few years and then look abroad just to meet our basic energy needs.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 24th, 2013.
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As long as we put distant powers above our neighbors, we would remain slaves to those distant powers.
You don't have the money to build the IP. You don't have the money to even buy the gas. But your willing to alienate the country which provides the bulk of your foreign aid and is your largest export market? Anyone ask what will happen if the USA stops buying Pakistan products - how many lose their jobs, how many plant closures, what's the impact on the economy? Anyone ask what will happen if the USA stops aid and uses it's influence to stop international loans? Maybe it's time for Pakistan to make decisions based on logic rather than emotions.
Resisting US pressure to build the pipeline does not mean Pakistan will have money to pay for the gas when it starts flowing. IT does however men that it will become increasingly difficult o fund its other energy projects using soft loans from World Bank and IMF.
Pakistan's deficit of energy is 5,000MW and with IP pipeline we can get 4,000MW and there are other projects coming online by 2013 will essentially take out our energy deficit. Besides Pakistan has been planning for this project since 1950s. US can go pound sand.