Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Saturday slammed the federal government led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for not completing the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project due to international pressure.
In a message posted on his Twitter handle, Bilawal said his party had initiated the pipeline project at height of international sanctions against Iran.
“Once again the federal government has bowed before the international pressure and isn’t completing Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project,” he said. “PPP initiated this project at height of international sanctions because we put Pakistan first,” he said, adding that people of Pakistan are now paying the price of the government’s inability to oppose international pressure. “People pay price of leaders weakness in expensive gas bills,” he concluded.
According to Arab News, Pakistan on Friday informed Iran in writing that it cannot execute the gas pipeline project as long as Tehran is under United States sanctions regime.
In February this year, a new round of negotiations were launched between Pakistan and Iran after Tehran formally issued a notice to Islamabad and said it was moving an arbitration court against Pakistan for failing to lay down the pipeline in Pakistani territory in the timeframe stipulated in the bilateral agreement.
According to the agreement signed between Pakistan and Iran in 2009, the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project was to be completed by December 2014 and would deliver 21.5 million cubic meters of gas per day to Pakistan. The pipeline was to be constructed using a segmented approach, with Iran having to lay down the pipeline on its side and Pakistan to build the pipeline on its territory.
Under a penalty clause of Gas Sales Purchase Agreement, Pakistan is bound to pay $1 million per day to Iran from January 1, 2015, for failing to build its part of the pipeline. If Iran takes the case to an arbitration court, Pakistan is likely to have to pay billions of dollars as a penalty.