Pakistani economic forum favors Iran gas

The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) said government has been wasting time on a costly and highly uncertain Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project while ignoring the only viable option of importing gas from Iran. The US is opposing Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline Project to counter Tehran’s influence while throwing full weight behind TAPI to benefit western multinational companies that enjoy control over Dauletabad gas reserves, it said. 'Increasing stakes of American elite in the oil and gas giants has become a threat to stability of many countries, said Dr Murtaza Mughal,' President of the PEW said in a statement. He said that the US policies have been damaging Pakistan while the government seems reluctant to move forward with plan to import natural gas from Iran despite knowing that there is no proper substitute available. Dr Mughal said that the performance of local oil and gas exploration and exploitation companies remain unsatisfactory while efforts to import LNG could not be materialised. He said that the proposed TAPI, if materialised, may not help Pakistan in the long run as it is a part of US hidden agenda behind war on terror which can be best described in two words—oil and gas. The November 25 statement of US ambassador to Pakistan in which he opposed Iran gas pipeline and supported gas import from Turkmenistan was contrary to the facts and the interests, he observed. Dr. Mughal said that Pakistan cannot ignore global energy giant Iran, at the cost of its economy, to fulfill objectives of controversial US foreign policy. Peace pipeline is a practical idea in comparison to unfeasible TAPI which will cross Afghanistan's southern regions, he noted.