THE lack of a coherent official narrative on the status of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline has caused some embarrassment for the outgoing administration, while adding to the risks of a diplomatic misunderstanding with our western neighbour. A statement attributed to Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik placed before the National Assembly, had said that Pakistan had invoked the ‘force majeure and excusing event’ clause in the agreement, effectively meaning that the project had been shelved for fear of attracting American sanctions. However, as Mr Malik clarified on Wednesday, the statement was the result of a bureaucratic faux pas within his ministry, and Pakistan was still interested in the gas scheme. Speaking to the media, Mr Malik said he had not seen the policy statement submitted to the house on his behalf, while dubbing it “complete disinformation” as the force majeure notice had been given about a decade ago. He added that Pakistan was trying to secure a waiver for the project from both the US and UN and progress on this front was “positive”. Moreover, outgoing Foreign Minister Bilawal-Bhutto Zardari also told the media that Pakistan was “absolutely still committed” to the project.

Firstly, an internal probe is needed to determine how such outdated and incorrect information was submitted to parliament on behalf of a minister. As Mr Malik noted, the issue concerns a “delicate geopolitical matter”, and in fact risks souring relations with a friendly neighbour. Information on such sensitive matters needs to be thoroughly vetted before it is put in the public domain. Coming to the actual matter, it is welcome that the state is still interested in the project, and is trying to convince the US to grant it a waiver in order to complete the scheme. Pakistan’s primary objective here should be a secure supply of hydrocarbons at a competitive price while avoiding sanctions. If the state plays its cards right, achieving this goal is entirely possible. After all, Turkiye and Iraq continue to buy Iranian gas, while China and India also lift massive amounts of Russian crude despite American displeasure. If the state feels this project is in the national interest, then it should employ all legal and diplomatic tools to help complete the pipeline, while at the same time convincing our friends in Washington that the scheme is important for Pakistan’s energy security.

Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2023