Energy crisis: Pakistan needs to complete I-P project, says envoy

The envoy cautioned that any delay in the execution of the project will incur a huge financial loss on Islamabad.

TEHRAN: Pakistan’s energy sector is in such a shape that it has very few choices apart from acquiring importing gas from Iran, said former Iranian envoy to Pakistan.

Ambassador Mohammad Ebrahim Taherian told Iran’s semi-official Fars News agency that Islamabad has no substitute for the Iran-Pakistan (I-P) gas pipeline.

"Owing to the grave conditions of energy (supply and demand) in Pakistan, some of the country's major cities spend half of the day without electricity, meaning that Pakistan's need to energy is real and inevitable," said Taherian.

Noting that Pakistan has not fulfilled its undertaking to complete the IP gas pipeline project on its territory as per the agreement with Iran, Taherian cautioned that any delay in the execution of the project will incur a huge financial loss on Islamabad as it will have to pay much bigger sums for the same project in future.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who concluded his maiden trip to Iran since assuming the office in May last year, met Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday as both leaders agreed to continue with the Iran Pakistan gas pipeline project.

He told the Iranian president that he is there with his finance, petroleum and interior teams to resolve all the matters which are creating hindrance in the completion of the project.

Under an agreement between Tehran and Islamabad, Pakistan was to get 750 million cubic feet of gas per day (mcfd) from January 1, 2015. Later, the gas supply from Iran was to be increased to 1 billion cubic feet gas per day (bcfd).