Close to collapse? Iran-Pakistan pipeline

IS it dead, or is there still some life left in it? The Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project appears to have been dropped by the Sharif government, though no formal intimation has been made. If that is in fact the case, it is an unnecessary capitulation by the government to US, and perhaps even Saudi Arabian, pressure. Two matters are relevant here. First, is the IP pipeline a sanction-able project? If a robust legal defence and a hard look at the language of the sanctions suggests, as some in the Foreign Office have argued, that the IP pipeline is permissible under existing sanctions, then Pakistan is needlessly giving up a right to do business with a neighbouring country. Even if the pipeline project does make sanctions possible, are they automatically applicable and to what extent would Pakistan’s business relations with the outside world be harmed? The simple reality is that Pakistan has an acute gas and energy crisis. Any project that can help bridge the supply-demand gap in relatively quick order ought to be given urgent consideration. The IP pipeline certainly fits that bill and what’s more, the Iranian government has been very serious about supplying gas to Pakistan. The project on the Iranian side of the border is near complete and the Iranians have offered a number of concessions to cushion the fiscal impact of construction on the Pakistani side. To allow such a seemingly viable economic idea to collapse at the altar of international relations is a travesty and a disservice to the Pakistani people. It appears the Sharif government would rather focus on the potential fallout of Washington or Riyadh’s annoyance with Pakistan than close a deal with Tehran which is there for the taking. Is that bargain necessary or the only one that Pakistan can make? The starting point of the sanctions on Iran is to open up its nuclear programme to international inspectors to ensure it remains within the realm of a peaceful and civilian nuclear programme. As this paper has argued before, sanctions are not the best way to achieve Tehran’s cooperation and instead exact a terrible toll on Iranian society and economy. Starting from that first principle and then moving through the chain of questions such as whether the IP pipeline is even subject to automatic sanctions, the Pakistani government can and should push harder to have the project reach fruition and on time. The passive approach is equivalent to outsourcing Pakistan’s economic security and foreign policy and is entirely unnecessary.