The News: Pakistan needs IP gas pipeline

The US State Department spokesman, while replying to a question during the daily briefing to the media on 26th February in Washington, said that the US was monitoring the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline closely and warned that it was in Pakistan interest if it did not pursue the project with Iran. He also cited American assistance in rehabilitation of certain projects that would add 900 Megawatts of electricity to the national power grid, benefiting at least 2 million people. Earlier in February 2012, the then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while addressing the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations in Washington, said that the US had made it clear to Pakistan that if it went ahead with the proposed Iran-Pakistan pipeline, it could face consequences as underlined in the Iran Sanctions Act. The ex-US ambassador to Pakistan, Cameron Munter, while being in office in Islamabad, had also stated that the project was not in Pakistan’s interest. MORE