Alwaght-The Pakistani commerce minister says the country has not abandoned the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project, which is scheduled to provide Pakistan with Iranian natural gas .
Pakistan will pursue the IP project after the removal of anti-Iran sanctions, the Express Tribune quoted Khurram Dastgir Khan as saying in a Saturday report .
“A gas pipeline that is going to be laid from [the Pakistani port city of] Gwadar to [the port city of] Nawabshah can be extended by 11 kilometers to Iran,” the minister said .
Iran and Pakistan signed an agreement for the construction of the gas pipeline in 1995. Later, Iran made a proposal to extend the pipeline from Pakistan into India. In February 1999, an accord between Iran and India was signed .
However, due to the US pressure, India withdrew from the project in 2009 .
Iran has already built its 900-kilometer share of the pipeline on its own soil and is waiting for the 700-kilometer Pakistani side of the pipeline to be built .
The IP pipeline aims to help Pakistan overcome its growing energy needs at a time when the country of over 180 million people is grappling with serious energy shortages .
The United States has long been threatening Islamabad with economic sanctions if it goes ahead with the plan .
