India, Pakistan dig in over pipeline (from Iran)

[mom cat]

Jul 15, 2005
http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GG15Df02.html


India, Pakistan dig in over pipeline
By Siddharth Srivastava

NEW DELHI - Despite US reservations on the issue and the threat of sanctions, India and Pakistan are pushing ahead with their plans for a 1,600-mile Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline. In another indication that India, and more curiously, Pakistan will stick to the agenda, a two-day meeting of a joint working group of the two countries that ended this Wednesday has set a timetable for the pipeline.

The US recently warned its traditional ally Pakistan of sanctions if it went ahead with the project. Washington would rather see the South Asian countries obtain resources from countries closer to its sphere of interest, and isolate Iran, which it suspects of developing nuclear weapons. The US has issued similar warnings to India. Both Delhi and Islamabad have been trying to persuade the US to change its mind, without success.

Reacting to US reservations, Pakistan Oil Secretary Ahmed Waqar, who was in New Delhi, said, "Our president and prime minister have stated on a number of occasions that we would take a decision on what our public interest would demand."

Waqar said Pakistan would start experiencing a shortage of gas by 2010, thus it wants to ensure that the "proposed" pipeline takes off much before that . "The ADB has stated that an Iran-Pakistan pipeline is feasible, but the economics improve if India joins," he added.

[bullimiami]

1. ha ha ha. unintended consequences george.

youre losing it all.

[mom cat]

3. With the US bogged down in Iraq for the foreseeable future, the mice

will play! The US cannot strike everywhere people disagree with it's policies. The world is reconfiguering itself and leaving us behind.

[Oversea Visitor]

2. See that writing on the wall

No more respect for US.