During a Tuesday interview with Independent Urdu, Khawaja Muhammad Asif criticized US double standards regarding the issue of trade and cooperation of other countries with Iran, saying that Pakistan witnesses the oil interactions of other countries with Iran and Russia, but when it comes to Islamabad, it faces other parties’ blackmail.
The pipeline deal, signed in 2010, envisaged the supply of 750 million to a billion cubic feet per day of natural gas for 25 years from Iran’s South Pars gas field to Pakistan to meet Pakistan’s rising energy needs.
The Pakistani minister also called for diplomatic negotiations with the US to resolve issues related to the gas project, aiming to avoid a potential $18 billion fine by Iran.
Regarding the upcoming visit of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to New York to attend the UN General Assembly session, the defense minister noted that Pakistan must ask third countries to convince the United States on the completion of the Iranian gas pipeline using a new diplomacy.
According to Pakistan’s commitment, this project should have been put into operation a decade ago, and the Iranian gas pipeline was supposed to pass through Pakistani territory and reach India, he noted.
Asif also said that Islamabad believes that Tehran has the full right to pursue its interests in legal forums, adding that Pakistan must start new diplomatic measures to get rid of this impasse.
He went on to say that Iran is a friend and brother of Pakistan, and Islamabad hopes that a solution will be found so that it can complete the gas pipeline because this project will benefit the Pakistani side.
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