At a Dec 27 public rally in Larkana, President Asif Ali Zardari had said that Pakistan would go ahead with the gas pipeline agreement with Iran despite US reservations.
First, Zardari has a habit of making statement in public that he, in person, refutes or do not support. So him supporting this project in public is actually a bad thing. Its like him saying to US, "Continue drone attacks, we will make statements against you in the public but it will be business as usual."
Second, Iran-Pakistan pipeline has been in the works since 1950s, its not a new project so US shouldn't have any objections over this. Pakistan has invested heavily into this project and we simply cannot absorb the losses.
Here is a history of the project for those interested.
Origin
Pakistani civil engineer, Malik Aftab Ahmed Khan, conjured up the idea to reinforce Pakistan’s gas reserves and gave a design proposal of the potential project. In his article titled “Persian Pipeline” published in mid 1950s by the Military College of Risalpur, Aftab Ahmed highlighted the blueprint of the entire proposal and also outlined the means for its protection. The need for it to be protected arose because the drafted out pathway overlapped with many antagonistic regions, that were hell bent upon ensuring that the project was not initiated. Aftab Ahmed suggested small battalion-size cantonments should be set up along the pipeline’s proposed route through Baluchistan and Sind, which would keep the hostility in check.
Conceptualisation
While Malik Aftab Ahmed Khan’s idea was constructively intriguing, it did have its creases that needed to be ironed out. Hence after being intermittently shelved, the groundbreaking idea was conceptualised in 1989 by Rajendra K Pachauri along with Ali Shams Ardekani, former Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran. The concept of an Iran-Pakistan pipeline was further extended to include India, and this mammoth project was being touted as the ‘Iran-Pakistan-India Pipeline’ – IPI pipeline or the Peace pipeline. Dr Pachauri expounded the design to both the Iranian and the Indian governments and received a positive riposte from the Iranian hierarchy. During the annual conference of IAEE (International Association of Energy Economics) in 1990 Dr Ardekani also backed the idea.
Route
The South Pars field is the origin of this historical pipeline project and the proposed length of the pipeline is 2,775 kilometers. Starting off from Asalouyeh in Bushehr province in Iran, 1,172 kilometers of the aforementioned 2,775 kilometers of the pipeline (around 42 per cent) extends within the domain of Iran. From Asalouyeh the route is traced towards Iranshahr; the distance covered in this segment is 902 kilometers. From Iranshahr to the Iran-Pakistan border, the pipeline runs for a further 270 kilometers before it enters Pakistan. After entering Pakistan, the pipeline’s proposed path is via Baluchistan into Sindh and Punjab. From Khuzdar, there would be a tributary en route to Karachi and the main pipeline would progress till Multan. From Multan, the pipeline can be extended to Dehli. Nonetheless, if China were to show interest in the project, the route could be modified accordingly to accommodate the South-East Asian giant. Owing to concerns regarding Baluchi insurgents, an alternative pathway from Iran to the maritime boundary between India and Pakistan off Kutch has also been proposed. If this idea is to be pursued, one branch would then run into Pakistan, while another one would branch off to Kutch.
Prospects
The Iran-Pakistan pipeline project promises to bear enough fruits to drag Pakistan out of the current energy quagmire. The initial capacity of the project was touted as 22 billion cubic meters of natural gas per annum, which was going to gradually evolve towards 55 billion cubic meters per year. Nevertheless, after the project has been restricted to the stature of a bilateral matter between Pakistan and Iran, the numbers being prognosticated are 8.7 billion cubic meters of annual gas supply as the contracted numbers, and up to 40 billion cubic meters of maximum gas supply has been promised. The radius of the pipeline is 28 inches, making its diameter 56 inches and circumference approximately, 176 inches. The cost surrounding the project is said to be $7.5 billion. And while it is clear that the pipeline alone cannot act as our saviour and we would have to explore our reserves as well, it is unambiguous that it would go a long way in aiding our cause.
1990s
Deliberations over the pipeline project between Iran and Pakistan began in 1994, which was followed by the preliminary agreement in 1995. It was decided that the pipeline was going to trace its starting point in the South Pars gas field and would run all the way to Karachi. As further plans unravelled under the political hangover, Iran further proposed to extend the pipeline to India and hence in February 1999, the initial agreement was signed between Iran and India. With Iran, Pakistan and India being an enigmatic triangle of prospect, cooperation, scepticism and tension, the pipeline has been a ropy affair going to and fro and fluctuating in synchrony with the political turmoil that epitomises the region. Such a trend was at its apogee as the world moved into the new millennium.
Epilogue
As things stand in Pakistan, we are in dire need to an inkling of inspiration to improve our multi-pronged crises. We need to tap into our own reserves and further pursue projects along the lines of the Iran-Pakistan pipeline, and the TAPI project is another major step in the right direction. The Iran-Pakistan pipeline project has stood the test of time and has proven itself to be a steadfast quest towards the enhancement of bilateral ties and trade between two forthcoming nations and towards the amelioration of power shortages. Despite a plethora of opposition and animosity, the project continues to surge towards its desired goal. The project has weathered all storms and hopefully, we shall soon see it being proved as one of the most lucrative deals in the history of the region.
Source: "Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline Traversing History" - PakistanToday