This was stated by Pakistan's Minister for Petroleum Amanullah Khan Jadoon to the state-run PTV on Thursday night.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, who returned on Thursday from a three-day visit to Iran, also told the media that a trilateral meeting of the petroleum ministers of India, Iran and Pakistan will shortly be held to firm up the modalities for the $3.7-billion and 2700 km gas pipeline.
Terming the gas pipeline as the peace pipeline, Aziz said the pipeline diplomacy would help all the three countries by building inter-dependencies in the energy sector.
He said the pipeline made progress after India recently dropped its pre-conditions linking it to overall opening up of economic and trade relations between the two countries. "We wanted to talk on the gas pipeline and we have carried it further during the talks (with Iranian leaders)."
During Aziz's visit to Tehran where the pipeline figured prominently in talks, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazzi, who was back from a trip to New Delhi, said after meeting the Pakistan Prime Minister that major hurdles to lay the pipeline have been removed and technical details will be finalised at the Ministers' meeting.
It appears that Pakistan has agreed to India's decision that it would be the responsibility of Iran to deliver the gas at its doorstep for a fixed price and Tehran would be working out rest of the modalities with Islamabad.
