The Hindu : Front Page : Gas pipeline project not to be linked to other issues

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 11, 2005

Front Page

Front Page

Gas pipeline project not to be linked to other issues

By Amit Baruah

NEW DELHI, FEB. 10. The Cabinet decision yesterday not to link the proposed pipeline from Iran through Pakistan to India to progress on "other issues" between New Delhi and Islamabad is expected to clear the way for solid negotiations on the project.

Highly-placed Government sources told The Hindu today that the decision has put the project on a "stand alone" shelf. The pipeline would no longer be linked to issues such as Pakistan giving reverse transit to Indian goods to Iran and Central Asia as well as grant of the Most-Favoured Nation status by Pakistan to India.

The sources said that the Iran-Pakistan-India, the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India and the Myanmar-Bangladesh-India pipelines could be placed in the overall context of bilateral economic relations but not be linked to progress on other issues. According to the sources, the three projects may widen and deepen the economic relations in South Asia. They would lead to the establishment of a much-needed trust and confidence among the nations concerned.

"Evolving position"

Interestingly, the Cabinet decision comes after considerable inter-Governmental debate and described as an "evolving position."

For instance, the Petroleum Minister, Mani Shankar Aiyar, said after talks with the Pakistan Prime Minister, Shaukat Aziz, on November 24 here that the pipeline issue and the question of transit of Indian goods through Pakistan could not be looked at separately. However, on January 19, the External Affairs Minister, Natwar Singh, said, "I see in these pipelines the ... potential to link our region and set up a new paradigm in regional cooperation and friendship."

The sources pointed out that recent high-level contacts between India and Iran as well as Pakistan and Iran had cleared the air on key issues relating to the pipeline. India, they said, was not contemplating any bilateral agreement with Pakistan, but would depend upon Iran to deliver gas to a designated point in India.

India and Pakistan will not be financially engaged in the work and the project is expected to go ahead with the participation of an international consortium.

"No contradiction"

There was, the sources said, no contradiction in going ahead with both the gas pipeline and the LNG projects with Iran. In fact, Iran had offered to offset any shortfall in gas supplies by the pipeline through the LNG route.

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