Islamabad

Pakistan has temporarily put a billion-dollar gas pipeline deal with Iran on hold. Media reports have claimed that Pakistan has taken this decision due to US pressure. Explain that Pakistan was to get cheap gas from the gas pipeline project with Iran, but due to US sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program, Pakistan has currently backed out of this project.

Pakistan is facing a serious economic crisis, these days. In such a situation, the Pakistani government is in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan of three billion dollars. It is believed that there should be no problem in the deal with the IMF, so Pakistan has pulled out of the Iran gas pipeline project. Earlier India was also involved in this gas pipeline project but later India came out of this deal.

Pakistani media has reported that Islamabad has put a hold on the Iran gas pipeline project due to ‘external pressure’. Pakistan will not be able to go ahead with the project until Iran gets relief from US sanctions or the US tacitly gives its nod to Pakistan. Pakistan is facing an energy crisis, and in such a situation, stopping the work of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline is a big blow to it.

Pakistan’s Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik in a written reply to the National Assembly of Pakistan informed about pulling out of the gas pipeline agreement with Iran. Mossadeq said the deal had been put on hold because of international sanctions on Iran. He said that the time limit for the completion of this project is not fixed.