Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline: Self-destructive policies and the national interest

Pakistan has been unable to act to secure its national interests consistently. The Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline is yet another instance of this record. This preposition warrants a closer look. But first the dream pipeline and consequences of its non-fruition. The strike at Sui of natural gas in the early 60’s saw a web of piped gas to consumers throughout the country. Over the past 50 years or so, people and industry enjoyed this natural boon. Lately, the domestically produced natural gas has started to deplete. 

The government opted to substitute by LPG containerised supplies mostly from Qatar. Besides the costs and the susceptibility of this resource to international events such as the Ukraine war, Pakistan has struggled to get supplies in. The result has been severe retrenchments of gas supply to industry and to domestic consumers. Load shedding of gas has caused immense hardship throughout the country. The search for the domestic supply of gas has been sporadic and not a dedicated effort. Offshore locations produced a lot of excitement but ended in no show.

The surest way to secure gas from Pars south gas field in Iran first caught the imagination in the mid 1990’s. The Iranians were happy to supply gas to Pakistan and India, which resulted in the concept of Iran Pakistan-India pipeline (IPI), a notion that would have brought not only gas but security to the region through an overland pipeline. This concept was later shelved by India for reasons of ‘insecurity’ and Pakistan and Iran proceeded ahead with the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project. An agreement to this effect was signed in 2011. 

Pull-quote: The same unfortunately applies to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) where the Chinese were interested in helping Pakistan develop itself through cooperative endeavors.

- Salman Basir

In 2013, President Asif Ali Zardari attended the inauguration of construction of the pipeline in Chabahar. Iran has completed its segment of the pipeline until the Pakistan-Iran border. The work on the Pakistani side has yet to start. Like other projects of importance, the pipeline has seen unending controversies with interested quarters trying to sabotage the project by citing American sanctions against Iran and its effects for purchase of gas for Pakistan. Like other projects of national importance, the pipeline has almost been discarded though not officially shelved. 

Pakistan has been officially speaking about its geostrategic relevance as being in the center of central, west and east Asia. It has carried the heavy burden of the turmoil in these regions, but it has singularly failed to transform its advantageous situation into tangible benefits for itself and the region. The centrality of geoeconomics at the heart of security, a notion that has been spoken of umpteen times, seems to be at the core of policy but with not a single step toward its implementation. 

The same unfortunately applies to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) where the Chinese were interested in helping Pakistan develop itself through cooperative endeavors. The CPEC Plus vision would have seen CPEC extended to the west and north thus transforming the region into a cohesive commercial whole. Pakistan would have attained its natural destiny as the economic lynchpin of this broad region. The Chinese remained interested in bettering Pakistan-Iran relations. They have magnificent foresight that development must precede politics. They strongly advocated a natural linkup between Gwadar and Chabahar and have taken credible measures with Iran to improve relations.

The costs of building the Pakistan segment of the pipeline could have been easily met by the Chinese. The issue of American sanctions could have been removed as is the case of Iran’s cooperation with Turkiye in energy purchases. The sanctions argument is a convenient tool to render the project as unviable by interested quarters. India has done well in avoiding opprobrium by its purchases of Russian oil for instance.

By March 2024, Iran will be within its rights to lay a claim for $18 billion in penalties on Pakistan for stalling the project. It’s all so very unfortunate, that a project that is in Pakistan’s national interest is being aborted on specious grounds.

- Salman Bashir is a Pakistani diplomat who served as Foreign Secretary of Pakistan and as High Commissioner of Pakistan to India.
Twitter: @Salman_B_PK