Sherry Rehman hails ‘landmark’ Iran deal

Karachi
The vice president of Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians, Senator Sherry Rehman, has termed the nuclear agreement between Iran and the six big powers of the world, US, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain, in Vienna to be a landmark deal.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Rehman said removal of sanctions from Iran will enable the federal government to forward on the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline development which had been in doldrums since 2013.
She urged the government to lose no time in moving ahead with completing Pakistan’s side of the pipeline since it would bring some urgently-needed relief in the energy deficit at home. She said the pipeline promises, in some estimates, to deliver 21.5 million cubic metres of much-needed gas to Pakistan where reserves were drying up fast and the demand had risen exponentially.
She also expressed the hope that lifting of sanctions gave the Iranian people the much-awaited relief which global connectivity could provide to their economy.
It was claimed that the regional pivot which the PPP government had premised foreign policy on can also now be truly realised with Pakistan becoming a hub for energy and trade for the entire region.
She said the Iran deal can actually boost bilateral trade with Pakistan and Islamabad could not look to achieve higher trade goals.
“Iran is an important country that we share a border with and leveraging resources together will be key to fighting terrorism in the region as well,” she said. “Removal of bans would incentivize Tehran to mainstream its efforts and join other countries in stabilizing the region especially with higher cooperation between Kabul and Islamabad.”