ISLAMABAD, May 14: India has indicated to join $3.5 billion Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) gas pipeline project provided Ashkabad guaranteed it would disconnect the whole system in case Islamabad disrupted supplies to New Delhi.

The Asian Development Bank, sources said, would inform Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan about the cautious response from India when TAP-steering committee meets on June 6 to 8 in Ashkabad.

Petroleum Minister Chaudhry Noraiz Shakoor Khan and managing director of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) Munawar B. Ahmad will represent Pakistan in the 5th tri-nation ministerial meeting. Under an agreement, the three governments are required to meet quarterly at the ministerial level to review progress of the project.

The ADB also participates in these meetings as it was conducting a study on routes and finances of the TAP project and had proposed to invite India to join so as to make it economically viable.

This led to a formal decision by the 4th steering committee meeting held in Islamabad in February to invite India to participate and followed a joint letter of invitation to India. Because of inclusion of New Delhi, the project cost has been estimated to increase from $2.4 billion to $3.5 billion.

Pakistan has no objection to the proposal and was ready to include a provision in the four-nation agreement to authorise Turkmenistan to disconnect its gas supplies because it honestly wished a pipeline to India should pass through Pakistan that would also provide it sizable royalties.

“This is very simple and workable. If we disconnect 1.6 BCF (billion cubic feet) gas to India, Turkmenistan can stop our 0.6 BCF gas that can affect our power generation and the industrial sector”, Munawar B. Ahmad told Dawn.

He said that notwithstanding all other assurances Pakistan has given so far, this arrangement alone could be an effective guarantee for India that its supplies would remain uninterrupted.

The ADB has already started feasibility study of the project to ascertain economics and viability of the 1500-km pipeline from Turkmen Daulatabad gas field to Pakistan’s under-construction Gwadar port and onwards to India.