KARACHI: Iran and Pakistan are looking at ways to complete a long-delayed gas pipeline project between the two countries, Iran’s Consul General to Pakistan, Hassan Nourian, said on Monday.
Iran’s Consul General to Pakistan Hassan Nourian said that Tehran and Islamabad “are looking at ways to complete the project but international pressure is causing delays”.
The statement came during a “Meet the Press” session at the Karachi Press Club, where the Iranian official interacted with journalists.
Nourian termed the recent visit by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi very important. During the visit, he said, progress was made on several issues, including the promotion of trade between Gwadar and Chabahar Port.
Iran and Pakistan signed an agreement to construct the 1,900 kilometre pipeline from Iran’s South Fars gas field to Balochistan and Sindh in 2010, but the work on the Pakistani portion has been held up due to apprehensions of US sanctions.
Iran’s Consul General to Pakistan said that the pipeline did not come under international restrictions, and that the two countries were discussing the issue. “We see political determination from Pakistan to complete the project,” he told reporters.
Nourian said that that during Raisi’s visit, discussion was held Palestine, security issues, gas pipeline and other projects, free-trade agreement, counterterrorism, exchange of prisoners and other issues. He thanked Pakistan for making excellent arrangements during the visit.
He did not answer a question about the potential for Iran to take legal action against Pakistan if it did not complete its side of the pipeline this year.
Pakistan, whose domestic and industrial users rely on natural gas for heating and energy needs, is in dire need for cheap gas with its own reserves dwindling fast and LNG deals making supplies expensive amidst high inflation.
Iran has the world’s second-largest gas reserves after Russia, according to BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy, but sanctions by the West, political turmoil and construction delays have slowed its development as an exporter.
