FOCUS
After conclusion of a multi-billion dollar long-term deal with Qatar over the import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), there are now high hopes for a tangible progress in the coming weeks and months on two key trans-regional energy projects pivotal for mitigation of country’s energy woes .
Iranian President Hasan Rohani is expected to undertake an official visit to Pakstan later this month to resuscitate the project that had virtually remained dormant for nearly two decades because troubling ties between Iran and U.S.-led Western countries mainly over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Now that most of the international sanctions have been lifted from Iran after it successfully concluded a deal with the world major powers by significantly curtailing its nuclear program, the Iranian government has been making frantic efforts to break its international isolation by normalizing ties with the outside world.
Rohani’s visit to Pakistan would be his first foreign trip after the recently concluded parliamentary as well as leadership council’s elections which are swept by his allies and largely seen as a referendum in favor of his pragmatic policies.
According to official sources, the foreign office has written letters to the finance and petroleum ministries to complete their homework in the hope of a “major progress” over the proposed pipeline and other issues during the Iranian President’s upcoming visit.
In a inter-ministerial meeting last month, Pakistan has lifted sanctions against Iran and drew up a a strategy to promote trade ties with its western neighbor.
Under the plan, the government decided to revive all commercial and trade ties with Iran in all sectors including investment, banking, technology, finance and energy.
Pakistan has been importing 74 megawatt of power from Iran to meet the electricity needs of its border areas in Baluchistan and it is considering to enhance it to 100 megawatt.
The sources say a series of agreements and memoranda of understanding might be signed during Rohani’s visit to strengthen ties in these sectors.
Both countries have committed to raise their bilateral trade to five billion dollars mark which stood at less than one billion dollars when the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on Iran in 2007. Pakistan exports to Iran stand at paltry 40 million dollars though smuggling and other illegal trade runs into billions of dollars.
The only concern for Pakistan in developing ties with Iran is Tehran’s deteriorating relations with the Gulf countries particularly with Saudi Arabia with which Islamabad has traditionally enjoyed very deep economic and strategic ties over decades.
Though Tehran and Riyadh have been wary of each other for decades, their unease increased follow the success of the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979. The ties hit lowest ebb in recent years when they started opposing sides in the Syrian and Yemen conflicts.
Pakistan has walked a diplomatic tight rope to keep a delicate balance between its strategic partner and an important source of financial and economic assistance, Saudi Arabia and its energy-rich neighbor Iran.
The dominant view among Pakistani policy-makers as well as intelligentsia has always been that while Islamabad should make all possible efforts to end, or at least, reduce tension between two important Muslims countries but at the same time should maintain and strengthen ties with both of them to serve its own national interests.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif alongwith chief of army staff General Raheel Sharif visited Riyadh and Tehran in January in an attempt to ease tensions between them.
Diplomatic observers believe that the prime minister during his visit to Saudi Arabia next week would take Saudi leadership into confidence over Pakistan’s ties with Iran and the expected visit of President Rohani to Pakistan.
As efforts are being geared up for the construction of pipeline from Iran, hectic activities are witnessed about the TAPI project as well.
The prime minister in December joined leaders of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and India for the groundbreaking of the gigantic project in December 2915 in Takhkent.
The four countries are now reported to have signed an initial investment agreement in Istanbul for the completion of feasibility and finalizing of pipeline route.
The agreement was signed with the TAPI pipeline project which was registered in 2014 in which Turkmenistan holds 85 percent of the stake while the remaining 15 percent were equally shared by the three remaining countries.
Turkmenistan is expected to achieve the financial close for the $10 billion project by the end of current year while construction of the pipeline is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.
Though volatile security situation in the war-ravaged Afghanistan has been a major concern for the implementation of this project, the recent diplomatic efforts by Pakistan, Afghanistan, the United States and China under the auspices of so-called Quadrilateral Coordination Group to revive talks between the Kabul government and the Taliban have raised some hope for a political settlement to the long-runnng conflict.
Pakistan hosted the first even direct talks between representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban in Murree last year but the dialogue derailed after revelation of reports that Taliban chief Mullah Omar has died. Now hectic efforts were underway to revive that dialogue process.
The laying of either of two projects, particularly the one from Iran which needs little work for Tehran has already laid pipeline to a large extent to its side of the border will go a long way in easing the energy crisis in Pakistan though industry officials and experts believe that Pakistan needs to explore more options not only to address its existing requirements but to also plan for its future needs for its progress and development.
Pakistan has already been in talks with Russia for the import of LNG as Moscow has shown willingness in construction of North-South pipeline between Karachi and Lahore.
Last year, an inter-governmental agreement was signed under which Russia would invest two billion dollars in the project the first phase of which will be completed by the end of next year.
The 1,100 kilometer pipeline with a capacity of carrying 12.4 billion cubic meter gas per annum from LNG terminal s in Karachi to Lahore. The three-phase project will be completed by the middle of 2020 provided timelines are strictly followed. Besides these projects, a number of projects are also planned under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor envisaging coal-fired and solar power generation.
The writer is a senior journalist based in Islamabad