ISLAMABAD, 22 May 2006 — Senior government officials from Pakistan and Iran yesterday held another round of talks on a proposed pipeline that would deliver Iranian gas to Pakistan and India, an official said.
Officials from Pakistan’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources and the Iranian delegation, led by Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister M.H. Nejad Hosseinian, discussed proposed prices for the gas that Iran would transport to Pakistan through the pipeline, a Pakistani official at the talks said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make media comments.
The two sides also discussed the technical, financial and legal aspects of the project as well as its structure and feasibility, said an official statement issued after yesterday’s meeting. The Pakistani team was led by Petroleum Secretary Ahmad Waqar.
The first round of talks between Pakistan and Iran was held in April when the two sides decided to go ahead with the project even if India did not participate.
Sources at the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources were optimistic about the outcome of the results. They said the current talks focused on prices and other modalities as the prices offered by Iran were too steep. Pakistan wants the prices reviewed.
During the previous round of talks Iran had agreed to lay the gas pipeline up to Mirjawah and the rest was to be laid by Pakistan.
According to the original plan, the pipeline was to be stretched up to Rahimyar Khan where Pakistan would connect it to its main gas transmission network and India would get its connection from there. Iran proposed the project in 1996 but it has not materialized mainly because of Indian concerns about the pipeline’s security in Pakistan, with which it shares a history of hostile relations.
Yesterday’s talks between Iran and Pakistan followed a May 4 meeting between the two countries as part of ongoing negotiations on the ambitious $7 billion project.
In recent months, Pakistani and Iranian officials have vowed to build the proposed 2,775-kilometer pipeline even if India does not join it. Pakistan has also said that the US opposition would not force it to abandon the project.
10 Die After Drinking Water
Ten people were killed and many became sick after drinking contaminated water in Faisalabad. Dr. Javed, district health officer, said most of the victims suffered from gastroenteritis. Some 7,000 people have been affected by the ailment, he said. Rana Zahid Tauseef, local mayor, told journalists that chief of the Water and Sewerage Authority was suspended for negligence.
Boat Passengers Hijacked, Freed
A motorboat carrying 14 passengers was hijacked by bandits in the River Indus at Rajanpur yesterday. The boat bound for the nearby town of Muzaffargarh was hijacked soon after it left Rajanpur at 11 a.m. Police using rubber boats chased the captured boat and got the passengers freed.
