Pakistan Considers Proposals On Iran Gas Pipeline

Islamabad, March 15, IRNA – Pakistan has said that it is considering some proposals to implement the Iran gas pipeline. “Pakistan is serious and Iranian government is aware of that. We are considering a number of proposals together,” the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Tasnim Aslam said. She made the remarks at her weekly briefing when asked about statements from Iranian side which show that Iran has established a view that Pakistan is not serious on Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline. “I will say that we have full commitment to this project and it has been stated repeatedly,” Ms. Aslam said. She recalled that last week, the Advisor to the PM on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, also had said in the parliament that the country is committed to the IP project. “We have had discussions and a number of options are under consideration by the two sides. I don’t agree that there is an impression in Iran that Pakistan is not serious,” she said. About the concerns voiced by the European community about Pakistan’s ability to control terrorism and its relations with India after it attained the GSP plus status, she said that Islamabad expects the Ambassadors of EU as well as others to abide by the norms of internationally recognized diplomatic behavior and not comment on Pakistan’s internal matters. “One thing must be kept in mind; this trade is not one way. It helps the European Union as well,” she said. About the security cooperation with Saudi Arabia, she said that Pakistan has long standing security cooperation with Saudi Arabia, which is mainly in the form of providing training to the Saudi Armed Forces officials. To a question about the visit of the Director General IAEA, the spokesperson said that he has expressed complete confidence in the safety and security of Pakistan’s nuclear installations. “He was quite impressed with the safety measures that are in place. We have long standing cooperation with the IAEA in the field of safety. All our civilian nuclear facilities are under IAEA safeguards,” she added. To a question regarding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s probable meeting with President Barack Obama at The Hague, Ms Aslam said there are no bilateral meetings scheduled. “The leaders will get together for the summit. It is likely that there can be some conversations on the sidelines. But no formal meetings are scheduled at the moment.” On the next month’s elections in Afghanistan, she said Pakistan will extend whatever help the Afghan government requests the country for can extend. She said that Pakistan has requested the US to release all its nationals at the Guantanamo detention center, adding that Pakistan is in contact with the US authorities. “There have been visits in the past by officials of the Ministry of Interior to meet the detainees and determine their nationality. Many Pakistanis were released as a result of those efforts,” she said, giving no details about the exact number of prisoners at Guantanamo. To a question about Pakistanˈs help in the rescue operation for the missing Malaysian Airline Flight, she said that Pakistan would be ready to extend whatever help is required but “I am not sure what would that be”. “It is possible that our Civil Aviation Authorities have already shared the data with the Malaysian authorities but I have no information that it has happened.”/end