New Delhi
27 June 2008
Pakistan's foreign minister, on a visit to India, has urged India tomove ahead with a gas pipeline project that will carry gas from Iran toIndia via Pakistan. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, thevisit comes as both countries try to give a boost to a slow-movingpeace process.
During talks with his Indian counterpart in NewDelhi Friday, Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi called onIndia to finalize a $7 billion gas pipeline project that isto carry gas from Iran to both Pakistan and India.
He says the project will benefit both countries and lessen the impact of spiraling energy prices.
"Theenergy prices have gone berserk and both countries are suffering onaccount of that this is a project that can help us mitigate ourproblems vis a vis energy shortages," said Qureshi. "We need energy andthis is a project that is a do-able project."
Progress onthe project has been delayed due to India's fears about the pipeline'ssecurity during its route through long-time rival Pakistan. The projectis also opposed by the United States, which wants to isolate Iran overits disputed nuclear program.
Indian foreign minister, PranabMukherjee, said New Delhi hopes to resolve technical and commercialaspects of the project with Islamabad.
The Pakistani foreignminister, also called for a boost to the five-year peace processbetween the two countries, saying the South Asian neighbors should movefrom conflict management to conflict resolution.
Qureshi says there is broad political support in both countries to deepen the peace process.
"Thereis a virtual consensus on movement and normalization," he said."We must seize this opportunity. We have the right environment, and wemust not miss this opportunity. It will be a great loss."
Qureshi is on his first visit to India since a democratic government took power in Islamabad.
Meanwhile,the Indian foreign minister, Pranab Mukherjee, reiterated New Delhi'sconcerns on terrorism. India says Islamic militants infiltrate intoIndian territory from Pakistan - and Mukherjee wants closer cooperationfrom Islamabad in combating the threat.
"Whatever be ourpolitical differences, we have to be unambiguous in addressing theterrorist threat," he said. "We hope that in future meetings concreteresults, including exchange of information on terrorists and terroristincidents, will emerge."
Both sides say a fresh round of peacetalks will be held next month to discuss their dispute over Kashmir -the Himalayan region that is divided between them and claimed by both.
Thepeace process has lowered tensions between the rivals and made theonce-volatile Kashmir border relatively peaceful. But there has beenlittle progress so far on resolving their conflicting claims to theHimalayan region.