US ASKED PAKISTAN TO QUIT FROM THE PAK-IRAN GAS PIPELINE

US ASKED PAKISTAN TO QUIT FROM THE PAK-IRAN GAS PIPELINE

US on Friday25th November,2011, asked Pakistan to quit from the Pak-Iran gas pipeline project, as Washington stepped up efforts to internationally isolate Tehran for its alleged nuclear weapons programme.American Ambassador in Islamabad Cameron Munter said that proposed pipeline was not a 'good idea' and suggested it would be better if Pakistan focussed on importing energy from Turkmenistan. But, reacting to the US envoy's remarks, Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan said Pakistan would not accept any 'dictation' on the pipeline project with Iran. Pakistan would make all decisions on the basis of its national interests, she told reporters in Islamabad. Munter made the remarks during an interaction with students at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. The project to import gas from Turkmenistan is a 'better idea', he remarked. Pakistan and Iran have finalised most aspects of the multi-billion dollar bilateral gas pipeline project. The US has for long opposed the project. Several meetings have been held in the past two years on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project.
This project has been held up due to concerns aboutTurkmenistan's proven gas reserves and the security situation in Afghanistan.During his address in Lahore, Munter denied a media report that he had met cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and Inter-Services Intelligence agency chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha together. Munter said the US wanted to strengthen civil and military ties with Pakistan. 

                                                                                    Prof. John Kurakar