Iran-Pakistan Pipeline wok to start on March

Islamabad: Pakistan and Iran will start work on the USD 7.5 billion gas pipeline on March 11. The groundbreaking will be performed by the Presidents of the two countries at the Pakistan-Iran border and agreements for opening two more border crossings at Gabd and Pasni and for setting up an oil refinery in Gwadar will be signed after the ceremony.
The ceremony will be held at Gabd zero point on the border from where the Pakistani section of the pipeline will start, an official of the Pakistan embassy in Tehran was quoted as saying by Dawn. President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday returned to Pakistan after a two-day visit to Iran for finalising the pipeline deal and sorting out financing and technical issues.
The pipeline is likely to bring Pakistan-US ties under renewed stress as Washington has been staunchly opposing the project. “It’s in their best interests to avoid any sanctionable activity, and we think that we provide and are providing…a better way to meet their energy needs in some of the assistance we’re providing,” US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had said during a meeting with Zardari that the much-delayed pipeline project must go ahead despite US opposition. “The Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline is an important example of Tehran-Islamabad cooperation, and despite hostilities towards the expansion of ties we must overcome this opposition decisively,” Khamenei said.
Referring to the energy crisis, Khar said: “All our friends understand the huge energy crisis that we face today. Pakistan is a responsible country and is mindful of its international obligations. Also all our friends realise that Pakistan is looking for alternative energy sources and to them we simply say, ‘Please help us!'”