‘Pakistan will talk to Afghan Taliban for TAPI project security’

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif has stated that Pakistan will talk to the Afghan Taliban for the security of the gas pipeline coming from Turkmenistan and Afghanistan to Pakistan and India (TAPI).

Talking to BBC Urdu, Khawaja Asif, who is also the Minister for Water and Power, said the TAPI project was extremely important to overcome the energy crisis. He said Pakistan would use its influence on the Taliban if needed for the protection of this project so that security concerns could be redressed.

Khawaja Asif said construction on the TAPI project would be initiated from Sunday (December 13) for which Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi are arriving in Turkmenistan. About 1,700-km gas pipeline would be completed within a period of two years at a cost of $10 billion.