Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik announced on Monday that Islamabad has chosen to contact Washington in order to get a waiver on the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project.
In a casual chat with the media, he declared, “Pakistan will vigorously present its case and will try to seek exemption from US sanctions by presenting technical and political arguments.”
The interim administration made the decision in February of this year to finish the gas pipeline project within its borders in two stages. They devised a plan to start by laying the 81 km of pipeline from Gwadar, where Iran has already completed its portion of the pipeline from the gas field.
Iran has already given Pakistan till September 2024 to fulfill the 180-day deadline. Tehran will file a request for a $18 billion fine with Paris-based International Arbitration if the authorities in Islamabad do not reply favorably.
The petroleum minister stated in today’s media briefing that Pakistan will also seek to secure the US waiver needed to finish the much-delayed gas line project within its borders.
According to Malik, the nation will soon begin building the gas pipeline project.
According to reports, the previous caretaker setup opted not to apply for a US waiver due to the geopolitical climate.
They noted that decisions over the project of the Pak-Iran gas pipeline were taken by a ministerial oversight committee.
The Biden administration has communicated to Islamabad its red lines on Tehran’s nuclear proliferation goals and has established a goal to stop the development of an Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline.
Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu told the Congressional panel during the Congressional hearing on Pakistan, “We have warned them about our red lines, legislative as well as in terms of how we cooperate with Pakistan.”
When Congressman Brad Schneider questioned Lu about US messaging regarding Pakistan’s engagement with Tehran on security matters, particularly in light of shared concerns about nuclear proliferation in Iran’s nuclear program, Lu responded, “If they get in bed with Iran, it will be very serious for our relationship.”
Many members of the congressional panel continued to be interested in Iran and its connections with Pakistan, particularly with regard to the proposed gas pipeline, during the session.
Since 2014, there have been delays in the project. Iran reminded Islamabad in January that it planned to take the arbitration court to task for not constructing the pipeline as part of the IP gas line project, and it sent a third notification to that effect.
Pakistan insisted that the US sanctions against Iran prevented it from implementing the project on its soil. Tehrani officials have never agreed with this position, arguing that the penalties are unwarranted. As long as they have been able to obtain exemptions from US sanctions, Iraq and Turkey have been utilizing Iranian gas.
It should be noted that Iran has already finished installing a 900-kilometer pipeline. 2009 saw the signing of the project agreement, which was scheduled for completion in 2015.
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