Pakistan is yet to formally respond to India's written invitation for detailed discussion on the proposed Pak-Iran gas pipeline project, it is learnt here reliably. Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Shiv Shankar Menon had delivered a letter of the Indian Minister for Petroleum to his Pakistani counterpart Amanullah Khan Jadoon, during a meeting in October last wherein Islamabad was invited for threadbare discussion on the project.
It was an indication from New Delhi that India was fully interested in becoming a party to the project.
India's participation can enhance feasibility of the project and help in easily availability of funds for it from the international donors such as IMF, World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
Pak-Iran gas pipeline project was conceived some time back. India showed interest to become a party to the project. Both Pakistan and Iran welcomed the Indian move at an initial stage but the talks suspended due to differences between Islamabad and New Delhi.
As per the original scheme, Pak-Iran gas pipeline was to be laid from Iran to India through Pakistan via land route. Pakistan could get gas from any point of its choice to make up gas shortage in the future. Islamabad could also get annual transit fee up to 700 million dollars per annum.
The plan could not take off as it ran into controversy between India and Pakistan at an early stage. It hit another serious blow in 2002, when tension was all time high between India and Pakistan with their armies face to face at borders.
Iran made several attempts to defuse the tension between the two archrivals to translate the project into reality but these turned into a failure.
Now when both Islamabad and New Delhi have started composite dialogue to amicably sort out differences on all issues, Iran thought it right time to bring the gas pipeline project on the negotiating table.
This time result was up to its expectations as the two countries pledged that they were serious to turn the project into a reality for their mutual benefit.
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