NEW YORK, Sept 18: Leaders of Pakistan, Iran and India will meet in Tehran later this year to firm up the gas pipeline project and resolve the pricing issue, Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri told newsmen here on Sunday.
He rejected an impression that the F-16s Pakistan plans to buy from the US may come without equipment needed to ensure its effectiveness in air combat.
“We are not in the business of buying remote-controlled toys,” he said, adding: “We are getting bank for the buck.”
At a recent US congressional committee briefing, a senior State Department official had told lawmakers that the F-16s being sold to Pakistan could not be used for carrying nuclear weapons and Pakistan would need US permission to use it in a war.
“We are in serious business of buying weapons for Pakistan’s defence,” said Mr Kasuri, insisting that there were no ‘exceptional’ conditions attached to the sale.
“Any planes we buy will have the ability to serve the defence interests of Pakistan,” he said.
To a question about the Iran gas pipeline deal, he said that Pakistan, Iran and India had appointed a consortium of international consultants to resolve a dispute over the price of gas that Iran wants.
Leaders from the three countries might meet after the consultants proposed benchmarks on pricing, he said, adding that the consultants were expected to submit a report in this regard in November.
He said the Iranian president extended an invitation to President General Musharraf in Havana this week and there was a strong possibility that he would also invite the Indian prime minister to discuss the project.
The foreign minister described President Musharraf’s meeting with the Indian prime minister in Havana on Saturday as very significant.
“The resumption of the composite dialogue after the Mumbai blasts is very significant. The flexibility and tolerance shown by the two leaders would lead to a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute,” he said. “I hope this optimism is borne out by subsequent developments,” he added.
He said while Pakistan was sending troops to Lebanon on a de-mining mission, it had not yet taken any decision on contributing troops to a UN peacekeeping force set up recently.
“There’s a dialogue going on in Lebanon (on this issue). We do not wish to interfere in Lebanese internal affairs. Let the Lebanese sort out their differences first,” he said.
He said the truce with tribal elders in North Waziristan could also be replicated in Afghanistan if the experience succeeded.
