Pakistan Says US Sanctions Waiver Not Needed for Iran Gas Pipeline

Pakistan said on March 21 that it does not require a waiver from US sanctions to proceed with the construction of its segment of a pipeline to import natural gas from Iran. 

"It is a segment of the pipeline which is being built inside Pakistani territory. So, we do not believe that at this point there is room for any discussion or waiver from a third party," Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said at a press conference.

This statement comes in response to a senior US official's remark opposing the planned Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, cautioning that it could lead to sanctions from Washington. 

“I fully support the efforts by the US government to prevent this pipeline from happening … We are working toward that goal,” the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Donald Lu, told a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee of the House of Representatives on March 20.

"We have also not heard from the government of Pakistan [on a] desire for any waiver for American sanctions that would certainly result from such a project," Lu said. He added that his department was monitoring progress on the proposed pipeline.

Pakistan and Iran have been talking about building a gas pipeline since the mid-1990s. 

They signed an agreement in June 2009 to build a pipeline to bring gas from Iran's South Pars Field to Pakistan, which needs more energy. 

The pipeline construction began in 2013 on the Pakistani side, following Iran's start in 2010.

Islamabad halted the project several times, fearing potential US sanctions for importing energy from Iran due to Tehran's banking sanctions related to its nuclear program. But Iran repeatedly threatened Pakistan with international arbitration and a penalty of almost $18 billion for contract breach. 

As the deadline approached for Islamabad to begin construction by March 2024, the outgoing government approved the project. 

Despite resistance from Western partners, Pakistan has made progress in advancing the project.

The first phase, which spans 80 kilometers from the port city of Gwadar in Balochistan province to the Iranian border, has obtained government approval and funding.