July 30, 2003	Wednesday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 29, 1424

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NEW DELHI, July 29: India rejected on Tuesday the possibility of imported natural gas with a pipeline running across Pakistan.

“Keeping in view the present state of bilateral relationship with Pakistan, the government is not considering any proposal for on-land natural gas pipeline transiting through Pakistan,” junior oil minister Sumitra Mahajan told parliament.

India is considering importing natural gas from Iran but has rejected the cheaper option of building a pipeline across Pakistan because of security concerns.

India’s gas firm, GAIL India Ltd and the National Iranian Gas Export Co have jointly commissioned a feasibility study for a pipeline from Iran.—Reuters