India fully committed to IPI project: Pakistan

Islamabad, Apr 21: A senior Pakistani official has said India is fully on board and committed to take part in the 7.4 billion dollar Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project to be started in 2008.

''We have been assured by the Indian government that it has no plan to abandon the IPI gas pipeline project under American pressure,''Pakistan Petroleum and Natural Resources Secretary Ahmad Waqar said.

''Reports to the contrary that appear occasionally from Indian sources may be attributed to political needs, not real intentions,'' Dawn newspaper quoted him as saying.

Mr Waqar added that during the recent SAARC summit held in New Delhi, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was assured by his Indian counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh that his country was serious about the project.

He, however, said that Pakistan was pursuing both bilateral and trilateral approaches to ensure that the project was not abandoned for any reason.

''In the first place, India has assured both Pakistan and Iran that it is very much part of the project, but in case it does not join the project due to any reason, Islamabad and Teheran will complete it,'' the Petroleum Secretary said.

The growing energy requirements of India and Pakistan, he said, had forced both the countries to have a certain feasible gas pipeline project.

Mr Waqar said that Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet (ECC) had recently approved the gas sharing arrangement with India under the IPI project.

Under the Phase-I of the project, Iran will deliver about 2.1 billion cubic feet of gas per day (BCFD) at the Pakistan border that is to be equally shared by both India and Pakistan.

Under the second phase, 3.2 BCFD of gas will be transported by Iran, bringing the total gas supplies to 5.3 BCFD from Teheran. Of these supplies, Pakistan and India will get 2.1 BCFD and 3.2 BCFD, respectively, he added.

The Petroleum Secretary said documentation relating to the project would be finalised next month.

UNI