"The recent anti-Iran sanctions at the Security Council will have no effect on the pipeline contract for transferring Iran's gas to Pakistan," Pakistani Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abdul Basit said today.
The UNSC's resolution (1929) was adopted on June 9 under US pressures by 12 votes for, two votes against from Brazil and Turkey and one abstention from Lebanon. The resolution imposed a fourth round of sanctions against Tehran for its peaceful nuclear program.
Basit pointed out that sanctions are focused on Iran's nuclear program and the country's ballistic missiles, while the pipeline agreement is an economic issue and is not related to the sanctions.
He made the remarks referring to the endorsement of a final agreement by Tehran and Islamabad in March to launch implementation of a project for exporting Iran's rich gas reserves to the energy-hungry south-Asian nation.
The 2700-kilometer long pipeline was to supply gas for Pakistan and India which are suffering a lack of energy sources, but India later evaded talks. Last year Iran and Pakistan declared they would finalize the agreement bilaterally if India continued to be absent in meetings.
According to the project proposal, the pipeline will begin from Iran's Assalouyeh Energy Zone in the south and stretch over 1,100 km through Iran. In Pakistan, it will pass through Baluchistan and Sindh but officials now say the route may be changed if China agrees to the project.
The gas will be supplied from the South Pars field. The initial capacity of the pipeline will be 22 billion cubic meters of natural gas per annum, which is expected to be later raised to 55 billion cubic meters. It is expected to cost $7.4 billion.
|
