Islamabad aims to woo Beijing into the project

Pakistan to begin negotiations with China on possibility of its participation in Pak-Iran gas pipeline project.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is expected soon to initiate negotiations with China on the possibility of its participation in the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project, an official source said. “China is likely to be invited to join the $7.5 billion project as the lead financier,” the source told The Express Tribune.

The execution of the project was set in motion early this month at a meeting of experts and officials of the federal ministry of petroleum and natural resources, he said. The meeting decided to appoint consultants to start implementation of the project.

“As a first step to select and hire consultants, Islamabad may approach the UAE and another country,” the source said. “India is out of the project now.”

The source claimed that the cancellation of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad’s visit to Pakistan was in fact a protest against Islamabad’s signing of the Turkmenistan- Afghanistan–Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project which would obviously mean for the Iranians abandoning of the Pakistan-Iran gas project.

Iranian Minister Mostafa Najjar had announced in August that President Ahmedinejad would visit Pakistan soon to see the devastation caused by the recent flooding.

In June, 2010 Islamabad and Tehran finalised the gas pipeline project dubbed as “Peace Pipeline” to start supply of natural gas to Islamabad by 2014. However, Pakistan had to face severe criticism from the US over the deal.

Reports suggested that Islamabad abandoned the project under pressure from the US and Western countries and signed the TAPI agreement.

Under the gas sale and purchase agreement (GSPA), Pakistan will import about 750 million cubic feet a day (mmcfd) from Turkmenistan with provision to increase it to one billion cubic feet a day (bcfd).The volume of the imported gas will be about 20 per cent of Pakistan’s current gas production and the agreement is for a period of 25 years, renewable for another five years.

Ejaz Chaudhry, Additional Secretary at the ministry of petroleum and natural resources, said it was absolutely incorrect to suggest that Islamabad has shelved the project.  “Throw him out of the window whoever has said so,” he said in anger. “The process for the implementation of the project is under way.”

“You cannot abandon international agreements with a single stroke of pen,” Chaudhry said. “It will take about two-and-a-half years to start construction on the project,” he added.

“China may be interested to finance the project,” Chaudhry said when his attention was drawn to the fact that both Pakistan and Iran may be short of funds required for the project. In April 2008 Iran expressed interest in China’s participation in the project.

When quizzed if the Iranian president cancelled his trip to Pakistan in protest against Islamabad’s signing of TAPI, Chaudhry said, “You should contact officials in the ministry of foreign affairs for such information.”

However, he said the UN sanctions against Tehran have nothing to do with the Pakistan-Iran project because it is an export deal like Iran has with a number of countries. “There are no UN sanctions on such deals,” he added. The director-general and director on the Iran Desk at the ministry of foreign affairs were not available for comments on the reports of the cancellation of President Ahmedinejad’s trip to Islamabad.

When contact for comments, no Iranian diplomat or the press counselor at the Iran Embassy in Islamabad responded to telephone calls.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25^th, 2010.