Salim said that Islamabad will not bow to the pressures exerted by foreign states regarding the gas pipeline project.
As per the agreement signed between the two countries, Iran is not allowed to sell gas to any third party other than Pakistan. Pakistan will use this gas only for power generation.
The 2700-kilometer long pipeline was to supply gas for Pakistan and India which are suffering from scarcity of energy sources, but India has evaded discussions.
In 2008, Iran and Pakistan then declared they will finalize the agreement bilaterally if India continued to be absent in meetings.
On March 20, 2009, the Pakistani government has approved pricing formula for gas supplies proposed by Iran.
As per the proposal, the pipeline will start from Iran’s Assalouyeh energy zone in the south and stretch over 1,100 kilometers through Iran. In Pakistan, it will pass via the Baluchistan and Sindh but officials now say the route may be changed if China agrees to the project.
Supply of gas will be from the South Pars field. The initial capacity of the pipeline will be 22 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, which is estimated to be later increase to 55 billion cubic meters. The project is expected to cost $7.4 billion.
