Pakistan pipeline 'not bound' by sanctions

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, June 23 (UPI) -- Islamabad is "not bound" by sanctions against Iran, the Pakistani prime minister said in his support of a natural gas pipeline from Iran.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Mehmood Qureshi said during a weekend meeting with Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, that energy needs for his country were a priority and a pipeline deal with Iran was intact.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, for his part, said a new round of sanctions on Iran at the U.N. Security Council would have little impact on plans to move ahead with the gas pipeline project.

A deal between Iran and Pakistan on a gas pipeline from the South Pars gas field was secured just days before the June 9 measure at the U.N. Security Council.

Islamabad is "not bound to follows these (sanctions)," the Pakistani newspaper the Daily Time quoted Gilani as saying.

He added that reports saying he would reconsider the pipeline following his meeting with Holbrooke were incorrect.

Iran and Pakistan put the final touches on an agreement for a $7.6 billion gas pipeline in early June.

First gas deliveries through the pipeline are expected by 2015. Pakistan has contracted 750,000 cubic feet of gas per day through the pipeline under the terms of the 25-year deal.

Washington opposes the project because of the economic benefits for Iran.