New life for the gas pipeline

The history of the gas pipeline between Iran and Pakistan — and India at one point — is long and much troubled. Iran has gas aplenty that it needs to sell to offset the damage being done by sanctions; in a world made up of level playing fields, it would readily do so. But Uncle Sam likes playing fields surfaced to his satisfaction and has made it known that were the project to go ahead, it would attract sanctions on Pakistan. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, now appear to have grasped the nettle and agreed to continue with the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline as it would be of benefit to both countries. In a further significant development, Iran has agreed to waive the penalty clause under which Pakistan is bound to pay $200 million a month for not meeting the gas pipeline deadline of December 31, 2014.

A cautious welcome to this refreshing of the accord between our two countries is appropriate. We share a number of common interests. Teams from the interior ministry, the finance ministry and the petroleum ministry are all there with a common purpose — to resolve those matters that are a hindrance to the project. However, the Iranian waiver of the swingeing penalty is only operative if our government shows ‘seriousness’ about the project, i.e. — we start building our section of the pipeline. This is going to be a difficult balancing act. The thawing of relations between the US and Iran are far from being complete. There is still a lot of luggage unclaimed in Pak-US relations, stuck on the diplomatic carousel.

Pakistan has every right to shape its own foreign policy and develop its own regional relationships to the mutual satisfaction of itself and its neighbours. After all, the country suffers from an acute energy shortage and the pipeline is precisely what its economy needs to kickstart it from its currently low level of GDP growth. The US is in the process of pivoting Pacific-wards in the coming years, while the Afghan drawdown is almost complete. The Iran-Pakistan pipeline may not suit America but America does not live here — we do. It is time for Pakistan to be a little less timorous and a little more assertive in determining its foreign policy. Do the deal, Mr Prime Minister.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2014.

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