By DPA
Islamabad : A senior US diplomat Friday reiterated Washington's opposition to the proposed US$7 billion Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project and advised Islamabad to turn to Central Asia for its energy needs.
US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher said in Islamabad that American opposition to the project was primarily linked with "the way Iran had developed its nuclear programme."
The three countries plan to sign a deal next month on laying a 12,670-kilometre pipeline, initially carrying 60 million cubic metres of Iranian gas to energy-hungry Pakistan and India. Later, the pipeline capacity would be increased to 150 million cubic metres.
Pakistan is desperately relying on the project to meet its rising energy requirements. The country is currently facing a huge shortage of electricity, necessitating prolonged power cuts at a time when average temperatures hovered at 45 degrees Celsius in central and southern areas.
"Energy supply for Pakistan we recognize is a very important question. We have tried to help Pakistan deal with its energy problem and develop new energy sources without relying on a country like Iran, which is not very reliable," Boucher told Aaj TV channel in an interview.
It is in Pakistan's own interest to get energy supply from the Central Asian countries, he said in an apparent reference to the proposed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project.