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128925
Mon, 06/21/2010 - 13:53
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http://m.oananews.org//node/128925
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Pakistan FM defends Iran gas pipeline
Islamabad, June 21, IRNA - Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi Sunday defended the $7.5 billion gas pipeline with Iran saying Islamabad would take the project forward despite sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Qureshi’s comments came hours after US Special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke warned Pakistan against the pipeline intended to bring the much-needed natural gas to the energy starved country.
Pakistan and Iran formally signed the deal in Tehran on June 13 under which the Islamic republic would supply Pakistan with natural gas from mid-2014.
“The gas pipeline project with Iran is in Pakistan’s interests,” the Pakistani Foreign Minister told a news conference in the city of Multan in Punjab.
Qureshi told journalists that Pakistani experts believed that sanctions on Iran would not affect gas pipeline project as it is a bilateral agreement and both countries have already finalized the deal.
Noting that the gas line deal with Iran would not violate international laws, Qureshi said Pakistan would focus on its interests without violating international laws.
The Pakistani Foreign Minister added that the visiting US envoy Richard Holbrooke also remained silent when he was asked about the pipeline deal on Saturday.
He said sanctions on Iran have not been imposed for the first time and that the Islamic republic had also been sanctioned three times before.
Holbrooke added that it was the fourth time that Iran was sanctioned.
If those sanctions have been imposed under chapter 7 of the UN then all UN members would apply and Pakistan would respect it like other countries, he added.
The pipeline was initially mooted to carry gas from Iran to Pakistan and on to India.
India withdrew from negotiations last year after signing a nuclear deal with the United States, but has kept open the option of rejoining the project at a later stage.
Based on the Iran-Pakistan gas deal, Iran would export more than 21 million cubic metres (742 million cubic feet) of natural gas daily.
Meanwhile Iranian ambassador in Islamabad Mashallah Shakeri has said the multi-billion Iran gas pipeline has enhanced Pakistan’s strategic importance, particularly in relation to India.
“In addition to the added economic value of billions of dollars, the Iran gas pipeline agreement has boosted the strategic value of Pakistan in the region. If there is any third country recipient, they have to recognize that Pakistan is going to provide a peaceful passage,” Shakeri told Express Television in an interview./end
Qureshi’s comments came hours after US Special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke warned Pakistan against the pipeline intended to bring the much-needed natural gas to the energy starved country.
Pakistan and Iran formally signed the deal in Tehran on June 13 under which the Islamic republic would supply Pakistan with natural gas from mid-2014.
“The gas pipeline project with Iran is in Pakistan’s interests,” the Pakistani Foreign Minister told a news conference in the city of Multan in Punjab.
Qureshi told journalists that Pakistani experts believed that sanctions on Iran would not affect gas pipeline project as it is a bilateral agreement and both countries have already finalized the deal.
Noting that the gas line deal with Iran would not violate international laws, Qureshi said Pakistan would focus on its interests without violating international laws.
The Pakistani Foreign Minister added that the visiting US envoy Richard Holbrooke also remained silent when he was asked about the pipeline deal on Saturday.
He said sanctions on Iran have not been imposed for the first time and that the Islamic republic had also been sanctioned three times before.
Holbrooke added that it was the fourth time that Iran was sanctioned.
If those sanctions have been imposed under chapter 7 of the UN then all UN members would apply and Pakistan would respect it like other countries, he added.
The pipeline was initially mooted to carry gas from Iran to Pakistan and on to India.
India withdrew from negotiations last year after signing a nuclear deal with the United States, but has kept open the option of rejoining the project at a later stage.
Based on the Iran-Pakistan gas deal, Iran would export more than 21 million cubic metres (742 million cubic feet) of natural gas daily.
Meanwhile Iranian ambassador in Islamabad Mashallah Shakeri has said the multi-billion Iran gas pipeline has enhanced Pakistan’s strategic importance, particularly in relation to India.
“In addition to the added economic value of billions of dollars, the Iran gas pipeline agreement has boosted the strategic value of Pakistan in the region. If there is any third country recipient, they have to recognize that Pakistan is going to provide a peaceful passage,” Shakeri told Express Television in an interview./end
