Pak Sahafat – The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan informed the Foreign Relations Committee of the Parliament of this country that Islamabad is determined to advance the project of transferring gas from the Islamic Republic of Iran and its completion is still the priority of the Pakistani government.
 According to Pak Sahafat News Agency’s report from Pakistani media, the meeting of the Foreign Relations Committee of the National Assembly of Pakistan was held in Islamabad with the presence of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and senior officials of the Ministry of Defense and the members of the committee questioned the latest developments related to Pakistan’s cooperation with its neighbors, including Iran, the situation in Afghanistan, and defense and security relations with the United States.
In this meeting, Asad Majid Khan, Deputy Foreign Minister of Pakistan, reiterated the positions of the Islamabad government to advance the gas project with Iran, that the eastern neighbor has not been able to fulfill its promise after a decade of completion of the gas pipeline.
This senior diplomat of Pakistan informed the members of the foreign relations committee of the parliament that Islamabad is in contact with Tehran and is determined to pursue this issue and complete the gas project.
He emphasized that the advancement of the gas project with Iran is still the priority of the Pakistani government.
In the Iran-Pakistan gas contract, the end of 2014 was set as the deadline for this contract. Long before this deadline, Iran fulfilled its commitment and built the gas pipeline to Pakistan near the border of this country. The Pakistani side, however, despite the passage of nearly a decade, has not yet taken any action to implement its obligations under the pretext of American sanctions.
According to the provisions of this agreement, Pakistan is obliged to pay a penalty for not fulfilling its obligations. The Islamic Republic of Iran has so far not taken any legal action to receive a fine from Pakistan due to good neighborliness.
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Political leaders in Pakistan and experts in the economic and energy fields of this country always emphasize: The government should take steps to overcome the energy crisis by using the potential energy capacity of the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially the completion of the IP Pipeline (Peace Pipeline) project.
The construction of the gas pipeline from Iran to Pakistan is one of the important projects of the two neighboring countries. At the same time, Tehran has been able to fulfill all its obligations in this regard and has brought the gas pipeline to the border of Pakistan. Now, this project is expected to be operational with the efforts of Pakistani officials and adherence to the country’s official promises in the joint gas contract.
Pakistani news sources recently reported: After the publication of reports that Tehran demanded from Islamabad to complete the gas project or pay compensation, Pakistani officials put a new diplomatic initiative on the agenda to get an exemption from unilateral US sanctions to complete the case of gas transfer from Iran.
Pakistani newspaper “News” wrote in this regard: In a meeting chaired by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the country’s top officials decided for a new diplomacy to advance the gas project with Iran and will raise the existing obstacles due to unilateral sanctions with the United States.
This English-language newspaper wrote: The truth of the matter is that Pakistan is looking for a way to remove the US sanctions on Iran’s gas transmission project, and at the same time, Islamabad is trying to convince Tehran that Pakistan will use all its efforts to avoid Iran’s legal punishment.
He added: Islamabad’s diplomatic efforts have begun and we will assure the Iranian side that Pakistan is serious about this mission and efforts are being made to obtain a waiver of sanctions from the United States and to create a relaxation in this regard.
Pakistan News newspaper wrote: Iran insists that US sanctions are illegal and Pakistan should start building the pipeline on its soil and complete it by the end of 2023.
Experts in Pakistan say that sanctions do not prohibit the construction of a gas pipeline from Iran. At the same time, India also received an exemption from sanctions from the United States and continued to buy crude oil from the Islamic Republic for some time.