Pakistan warms to IPI pipeline

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, June 24 (UPI) -- Development of the Iran-Pakistan-India natural gas pipeline would be integral to alleviating the global energy crunch, Pakistani officials said Tuesday.

Pakistani deputy planning chief Salman Faruqi said Islamabad decided to move ahead with the 1,724-mile pipeline that would carry gas from the Iranian South Pars natural gas field to markets in India and Pakistan, Asian News International said.

"We are keen on the pipeline and working with Iran and India on the issue. Pakistan has always been in the forefront in this matter," Faruqi said

Indian Petroleum Secretary M.S. Srinivasan said officials from the three nations will attend trilateral talks scheduled to be held in Tehran in July regarding the $7.6 billion pipeline.

An Indian dispute over the pipeline and custody issues prompted Iran and Pakistan to push forward on the plan without India. China also has been considered a potential partner.

The United States is opposed to the project, set for completion by 2012, because of apprehensions over economic ties to Iran and its contentious nuclear program.