WASHINGTON: US warned Pakistan on Wednesday that it is in its interest to avoid any activity that can hit it with sanctions, the same day President Zardari arrived in Iran to sign Pak-Iran gas pipeline project, Dispatch News Desk (DND) reported.
The State Department said that it was providing Pakistan with alternatives that would avoid any sanctions violation.
“We recognise that Pakistan has significant energy requirements but we really think there are other long-term solutions to Pakistan’s energy needs,” said deputy acting spokesman Patrick Ventrell.
“And so we’ve been assisting as a government to contribute to the alleviation of the energy crisis in Pakistan,” he said.
“It’s in their best interests to avoid any sanctionable activity, and we think that we provide and are providing … a better way to meet their energy needs in some of the assistance we’re providing.”
Iran said on Wednesday that despite US pressure a much-delayed $7.5 billion gas pipeline project between Iran and Pakistan must go ahead, a project strongly opposed by Tehran’s archfoe Washington.
“The Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline is an important example of Tehran-Islamabad cooperation, and despite hostilities towards the expansion of ties we must overcome this opposition decisively,” Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told the visiting Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, his office reported.
“Accessing safe energy source is the first priority for any country including Pakistan. In this region, the Islamic republic is the only nation that has safe energy resources and we are ready to provide Pakistan its energy needs,” the all-powerful Khamenei said.
DND
