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Pakistan acknowledges sanctions risk for Iran gas pipeline, rejects foreign ‘dictation’

Pakistan acknowledges sanctions risk for Iran gas pipeline, rejects foreign ‘dictation’
In this file photograph, taken on April 22, 2024, commuters ride past a welcoming billboard displaying an image of the Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi along a street in Karachi. (AFP)
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Updated 08 May 2024
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Pakistan acknowledges sanctions risk for Iran gas pipeline, rejects foreign ‘dictation’

Pakistan acknowledges sanctions risk for Iran gas pipeline, rejects foreign ‘dictation’
  • Ishaq Dar says Pakistan will prioritize its own interest over the issue as a sovereign state
  • The pipeline project has faced delays for several reasons including funding challenges
Updated 08 May 2024
SAIMA SHABBIR
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Tuesday his country understood the sanctions risk involved in pursuing the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, though he said it would not take “dictation” from other states and follow its own interests.
Earlier this year in March, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu told a Congressional hearing that President Joe Biden’s administration was trying to prevent the construction of the pipeline project that was agreed between the two countries in 2009.
His statement followed Pakistan’s decision to build an 80-kilometer pipeline segment from its border with Iran to the port city of Gwadar in the first phase.
Recent media reports also indicated the government was deliberating over engaging an international law firm to seek US sanctions waiver to implement the project.
“We are not concerned with what other countries say about the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project,” Dar said during a media talk in Islamabad. “We must prioritize our own interests, honor our commitments, and make decisions based on Pakistan’s interests.”
“We won’t be dictated to, nor will we allow anyone to veto our decisions,” he continued. “Pakistan is a sovereign nation, and we expect others to respect our sovereignty just as we respect theirs. The government will make the final decision on the IP gas pipeline.”
The deputy prime minister said the Iranian president visited Pakistan with sincerity, and the government conducted meetings and dialogues with him in a cordial environment.
“This project has long-standing complications, including sanctions from other countries, but we will prioritize Pakistan’s interests when making decisions about it,” he added.
The Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, known as the Peace Pipeline, has faced significant delays in the past due to several reasons that include funding challenges.
Pakistan’s defense minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif also said last month his country had the right to buy gas at competitive rates from neighboring countries amid its ongoing economic problems.

Topics: Pakistan Iran gas pipeline Pakistan Iran Ties Pakistan US Ties

Pakistan anti-polio drive struggles against militants, mistrust

Pakistan anti-polio drive struggles against militants, mistrust
Updated 13 sec ago
AFP
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Pakistan anti-polio drive struggles against militants, mistrust

Pakistan anti-polio drive struggles against militants, mistrust
  • Cases in Pakistan are on the rise, with 45 registered so far this year, up from six in 2023 and only one in 2021
  • Last week seven people killed in attack on police guarding vaccinators, days earlier two police escorts gunned down
Updated 13 sec ago
AFP

PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Militant attacks and suspicion stemming from misinformation are hampering Pakistan’s battle to eradicate polio, but teams of dedicated volunteer health workers are determined to fight on.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries where the debilitating virus remains endemic, the disease mostly affecting children under five and sometimes causing lifelong paralysis.

Cases in Pakistan are on the rise, with 45 registered so far this year, up from six in 2023 and only one in 2021.

Polio can easily be prevented by the oral administration of a few drops of vaccine, but in parts of rural Pakistan health workers risk their lives to save others.

Last week seven people including five children were killed when a bomb targeted police traveling to guard vaccine workers. Days earlier two police escorts were gunned down by militants.

“When we hear that a polio vaccination team has been attacked, it deeply saddens us,” said health worker Zainab Sultan, 28, as she went door to door in Panam Dehri in northwest Pakistan

“Our responsibility now is to continue our work. Our job is to protect people from disability, to vaccinate children, and to make them healthy members of society.”

In the past firebrand clerics falsely claimed the vaccine contained pork or alcohol, forbidding it for consumption by Muslims.

A fake vaccination campaign organized by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Pakistan in 2011 to track Osama bin Laden compounded the mistrust.

More recently, militant groups have shifted to targeting armed police escorts in their campaigns of violence against the state.

Pakistan has witnessed a dramatic uptick in attacks since the return of the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021, with Islamabad claiming hostile groups are now operating from there.

“In our area, nearly half of the parents were initially resistant to the polio vaccine, believing it to be a ploy by the West,” said local resident Ehsanullah, who goes by one name.

“There was a lack of awareness,” he said. “If this disease is spreading because of our reluctance, we are not just harming ourselves but the entire community.

From previously being blamed for the mistrust of polio vaccines, some religious leaders — who wield immense authority in Pakistan — are now at the forefront of the campaign to convince parents.

“All major religious schools and scholars in Pakistan have debunked the rumors surrounding the polio vaccine,” said Imam Tayyab Qureshi.

“Those who attack polio vaccination teams have no connection to Islam or humanity,” he said in the provincial capital of Peshawar, where Panam Dehri lies on the outskirts.

For one parent in Panam Dehri, the endorsement by religious chiefs proved pivotal.

“Initially I did not vaccinate my children against polio. Despite everyone’s efforts, I refused,” said 40-year-old Zulfiqar, who uses one name.

“Later, the Imam of our mosque came to explain the importance of the polio vaccine, telling me that he personally vaccinated his own children and encouraged me to do the same,” he said.

“After that, I agreed.”

Another impediment can be that parents in impoverished areas use the government’s eagerness to vaccine as a bargaining chip, attempting to negotiate investment in water and road projects.

“There are demand-based boycotts and community boycotts that we face,” lamented Ayesha Raza, spokeswoman for the government polio eradication campaign.

“Your demands may be very justified, but don’t link it to your children’s health,” she pleads to them.

For some health workers, the battle to eradicate polio is more personal.

Hobbling door-to-door in Panam Dehri, polio survivor Ismail Shah’s paralyzed leg does not slow his mission.

“I decided in my childhood that when I grew up I would fight against the disease that disabled me,” said the 35-year-old.

Shah is among 400,000 volunteers and health workers who spent the past week patiently explaining to families that the oral innoculation — administered in two doses — is safe.

Their goal is to protect 45 million children, but it’s far from straightforward. When Shah arrived in his patch of 40,000 inhabitants there were more than 1,000 refusals.

“Now, there are only 94 reluctant parents left, and soon I will persuade them as well,” he said.

Topics: anti-polio program Polio Campaign Polio case Polio cases in Pakistan militancy in Pakistan

Pakistan hires two US law firms for Iran gas pipeline arbitration — attorney general

Pakistan hires two US law firms for Iran gas pipeline arbitration — attorney general
Updated 20 min 39 sec ago
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Pakistan hires two US law firms for Iran gas pipeline arbitration — attorney general

Pakistan hires two US law firms for Iran gas pipeline arbitration — attorney general
  • Wilkie Farr & Gallagher and White & Case have been hired as Iran starts arbitration hearings before International Court of Arbitration
  • Tehran is seeking damages for Pakistan’s failure to fulfill its obligations, Islamabad reportedly faces potential penalty of $18 billion 
Updated 20 min 39 sec ago
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: Pakistan has hired two prominent US law firms, Willkie Farr & Gallagher and White & Case, to defend its position in an international arbitration case initiated by Tehran over the stalled Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, the attorney general confirmed on Monday.

The dispute stems from a gas sales and purchase agreement (GSPA) the neighboring countries signed in 2010 to build a pipeline to transport natural gas from Iran to Pakistan. Known as the Peace Pipeline, the project has faced delays and funding challenges for over two decades. Pakistan said in March it would seek a US sanctions waiver for the pipeline, to which the US responded publicly, saying it did not support the project and cautioning about the risk of sanctions in doing business with Tehran.

Widespread media reports this year suggested Iran had slapped Pakistan with a final notice to finish its part of the cross-border gas pipeline or face international arbitration. Iran has now initiated the proceedings before the International Court of Arbitration in Paris, seeking damages for Pakistan’s failure to fulfill its obligations. Islamabad reportedly faces a potential penalty of up to $18 billion.

Attorney General for Pakistan, Mansoor Usman Awan, confirmed the government had hired the two US law firms, Willkie Farr & Gallagher and White & Case, to fight the case.

“We believe we have a strong case to defend,” Awan told Arab News, declining further comment.

Barrister Aqeel Malik, a spokesperson for the government of Pakistan on legal affairs, also said Islamabad had a good case. 

“We are quite hopeful that we will avoid any breach of contract penalties. At the time this agreement was signed, sanctions were already in place, rendering the deal with Iran effectively an ‘unenforceable contract.’ As it was unenforceable, penalties do not apply.”

Topics: Pakistan US Ties GSPA Pakistan Iran Ties Peace Pipeline

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Pakistan acknowledges sanctions risk for Iran gas pipeline, rejects foreign ‘dictation’
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Pakistan acknowledges sanctions risk for Iran gas pipeline, rejects foreign ‘dictation’

Iranian FM arrives in Pakistan to discuss bilateral ties, Middle East tensions 

Iranian FM arrives in Pakistan to discuss bilateral ties, Middle East tensions 
Updated 04 November 2024
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Iranian FM arrives in Pakistan to discuss bilateral ties, Middle East tensions 

Iranian FM arrives in Pakistan to discuss bilateral ties, Middle East tensions 
  • Seyed Abbas Araghchi to meet Pakistan’s premier, deputy PM during two-day visit 
  • Visit takes place amid rising tensions between Iran and Israel as Gaza war rages on 
Updated 04 November 2024
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi arrived in Islamabad on Monday for a two-day visit to discuss bilateral relations and the evolving Middle East situation, Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson said in a statement, amid Tehran’s surging tensions with Israel. 

Araghchi’s Islamabad visit takes place after last month’s escalation in hostilities between Iran and Israel, with both countries firing missiles at each other. Israel carried out strikes against Iran on Oct. 26, saying it was responding to missile attacks conducted by Tehran earlier in the month.

Since the deadliest attack in its history on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has been fighting Hamas in Gaza and since late September, it has been at war with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Both Hezbollah and Hamas are allies of Iran. Pakistan, a major ally of Saudi Arabia, shares a long border with Iran.

“Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi arrives in Pakistan today on a two-day official visit,” Baloch wrote on social media platform X. “The two sides will discuss the situation in the Middle East and Pakistan-Iran bilateral relations.”

Baloch said the Iranian envoy will meet Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Daq during his visit to the country. 

Pakistan and Iran have had a rocky relationship despite several commercial pacts between them related to trade, energy and security cooperation. Both countries signed the $7 billion Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project agreement in 2004 but 20 years on, the project remains incomplete. Tehran has completed the pipeline’s construction on its side of the border while Pakistan is seeking a US waiver to go ahead with it due to sanctions targeting Iran. 

Araghchi’s visit takes place hours after an Iranian Revolutionary Guards general and pilot were killed in a helicopter crash during an anti-terror operation in the Sistan-Baluchestan province bordering Pakistan. 

Pakistan and Iran are also often at odds over instability on their shared porous border, with both countries routinely trading blame for not rooting out militancy.

Tensions surged in January when Pakistan and Iran exchanged airstrikes, both claiming to target alleged militant hideouts in each other’s countries. Late Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi visited Pakistan in April on a three-day visit aimed at strengthening bilateral relations and easing tensions. The two sides also signed memorandums of understanding in the fields of trade, science technology, agriculture, health, culture, and judicial matters.

Topics: Pakistan Iran Ties Paistan Iran

Pakistan set to deliver fourth consecutive rate cut today to revive economy

Pakistan set to deliver fourth consecutive rate cut today to revive economy
Updated 04 November 2024
Reuters
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Pakistan set to deliver fourth consecutive rate cut today to revive economy

Pakistan set to deliver fourth consecutive rate cut today to revive economy
  • All 15 investors and analysts surveyed by Reuters expect the central bank to cut rates next week
  • Policymakers continue efforts to revive a fragile economy as inflation eases off recent record highs
Updated 04 November 2024
Reuters

KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank is expected to cut its key interest rate further at its policy meeting today, Monday, with policymakers continuing their efforts to revive a fragile economy as inflation eases off recent record highs.
The central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan, has slashed the benchmark policy rate to 17.5 percent from an all time-high of 22 percent in three consecutive policy meetings since June, having last reduced it by 200 basis points in September.
All 15 investors and analysts surveyed by Reuters expect the central bank to cut rates. Two expect a 150 bps cut, twelve predict a 200 bps reduction, and one forecasts a 250 bps cut.
Economic activity has stabilized since last summer when the country came close to a default before an eleventh hour bailout by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The IMF, which in September gave a boost to Pakistan’s struggling economy by approving a long-awaited $7 billion facility, said that the South Asian nation had taken key steps to restore economic stability with consistent policy implementation under the 2023-24 standby arrangement.
While the economy has started to gradually recover, and inflation has moved sharply down from a multi-decade high of nearly 40 percent in May 2023, analysts say further rate cuts are needed to bolster growth.
Mustafa Pasha, Chief Investment Officer at Lakson Investments, said rates must drop under 15 percent and hold below that for six months to have a material impact.
The IMF in its latest October report forecast Pakistan’s gross domestic product growth at 3.2 percent for the fiscal year ending June 2025, up from 2.4 percent in fiscal 2024.
The government expects annual inflation to have come in at 6-7 percent last month and slow further to 5.5-6.5 percent in November.
However, inflation could pick up again in 2025, driven by electricity and gas tariff hikes under the new $7 billion IMF bailout, and the potential impact of taxes on the retail and wholesale sector proposed in the June budget.
Ahmad Mobeen, senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said that while lower rates will offer some relief to the manufacturing sector, the benefits may be limited due to “elevated input costs, driven by high electricity and gas tariffs, combined with global supply and shipping constraints.”

Topics: Pakistan

PM praises security forces for successful operation against militants in Pakistan’s Balochistan

PM praises security forces for successful operation against militants in Pakistan’s Balochistan
Updated 04 November 2024
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PM praises security forces for successful operation against militants in Pakistan’s Balochistan

PM praises security forces for successful operation against militants in Pakistan’s Balochistan
  • Pakistani forces killed three separatist militants and arrested two others in Balochistan’s Musa Khel district on Sunday
  • Balochistan, home to a long-running separatist insurgency, has witnessed a spike in militant attacks in recent months
Updated 04 November 2024
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday praised Pakistani security forces and law enforcement agencies for a successful operation against militants affiliated with the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) separatist group in the country’s restive Balochistan province.
Pakistan’s Frontier Corps (FC) paramilitary force and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of the police intercepted a group of up to 12 militants in Rarhasham area of Balochistan’s Musa Khel district, according to Balochistan CTD.
An ensuing heavy exchange of fire three militants were killed and two were apprehended, while the rest managed to get away. The arrested suspects were being interrogated to “develop further leads.”
In a statement issued from his office, PM Sharif said timely action by the CTD and security forces foiled a major “sabotage” by the militants.
“Security forces have rendered great sacrifices to eradicate the menace of terrorism from Balochistan,” he said. “The entire nation, including me, pays tribute to the officers of FC, Police and CTD.”
The development came two days after at least seven people, including children and a police constable, were killed and nearly two dozen others injured in a roadside blast in Balochistan province, officials said.
Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan and is home to major China-led projects such as a strategic port and a gold and copper mine, has been the site of a decades-long separatist insurgency by ethnic Baloch militants. The province has lately seen an increase in attacks by separatist militants.
On Oct. 29, five people were killed in an attack by armed men on the construction site of a small dam in Balochistan’s Panjgur district. The BLA, the most prominent of several separatist groups, claimed responsibility for the attack along with the killing of two other persons in Kech and Quetta districts.
The separatists accuse the central government of exploiting Balochistan’s mineral and gas resources. The Pakistani state denies the allegation and says it is working to uplift the region through development initiatives.
 

Topics: Pakistan Balochistan Security operation Baloch Liberation Army BLA

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