ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has informed Iran in writing that it cannot execute the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project as long as Tehran is under a United States sanctions regime, a top official at Pakistan’s state-owned Inter State Gas Systems said on Friday, driving a final nail in the coffin of a project that was conceived in the 1990s to connect Iran’s giant South Pars gas field to India via Pakistan.
The US has steadfastly opposed Pakistani and Indian involvement in the $7 billion project, saying it violates sanctions. India quit the project in 2009, citing costs and security issues, a year after it signed a nuclear deal with Washington.
US sanctions against Iran are a major hindrance for most gas pipeline projects in the region. The President Donald Trump administration has warned countries around the world to stop buying Iranian oil or face sanctions of their own. Washington’s European allies have tried and failed to come up with ways to blunt the economic impact of the US move.
“Under present US sanctions on Iran, it is impossible to execute the IP [Iran-Pakistan] gas pipeline project and we have conveyed it to them [Iran] in writing recently,” Mobin Saulat, the managing director of Inter State Gas Systems told Arab News.
The company, which falls under the Pakistani Ministry of Energy’s Petroleum Division, has been mandated by the government to develop natural gas import projects, including the Iran-Pakistan pipeline.
A new round of negotiations was recently launched between Pakistan and Iran after Tehran formally issued a notice to Islamabad in February this year, saying it was moving an arbitration court against Pakistan for failing to lay down the pipeline in Pakistani territory in the timeframe stipulated in the bilateral agreement.
“We have time till August this year to legally respond to Iran’s legal notice and settle the issue through negotiations,” Saulat said. “We are hopeful to find a solution through discussions with Iranian officials.”
Under an agreement signed between the two countries in 2009, the project was to be completed by December 2014 and would deliver 21.5 million cubic meters (760,000 million cubic feet) of gas per day to Pakistan. It was to be constructed using a segmented approach – Iran had to lay down the pipeline on its side and Pakistan was supposed to build the pipeline on its territory.
Under a penalty clause, Pakistan is bound to pay $1 million per day to Iran from January 1, 2015 for failing to build its part of the pipeline. If Iran takes the case to an arbitration court, Pakistan will likely to have to pay billions of dollars as penalty.
Saulat said Pakistan was still committed to executing the project, but only if international sanctions on Iran were lifted.
“We cannot risk US sanctions by going ahead with the project as America has clearly said that anybody who will work with Iran will also be sanctioned,” Saulat said.
He said Iranian authorities were of the view that US sanctions did not apply to the IP gas project, adding that Pakistan had thus sent Tehran a questionnaire to ascertain exactly how that was the case.
“We may not have a weak case if Iran moves the international court,” Saulat said. “We are trying to handle it professionally.”
Gas pipeline project 'impossible' under US sanctions, Pakistan tells Iran
Gas pipeline project 'impossible' under US sanctions, Pakistan tells Iran
- Iran issued notice to Pakistan in February threatening international arbitration over failure to fulfil agreement
- Pakistan may have to pay billions in penalties if Iran goes to court, has until August to respond to Tehran
Pakistan to launch AI screening in January to target fake visas, agent networks
- New system to flag forged-document travelers before boarding and pre-verify eligibility
- Move comes amid increasing concern over fake visas, fraudulent agents, forged papers
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will roll out an AI-based immigration screening system in Islamabad from January to detect forged documents and prevent illegal overseas travel, the government said on Thursday.
The move comes amid increasing concern over fake visas, fraudulent agents and forged papers, with officials warning that such activity has contributed to deportations, human smuggling and reputational damage abroad. Pakistan has also faced scrutiny over irregular migration flows and labor-market vulnerability, particularly in the Gulf region, prompting calls for more reliable pre-departure checks and digital verification.
The reforms include plans to make the protector-stamp system — the clearance required for Pakistani citizens seeking overseas employment — “foolproof”, tighten labor-visa documentation, and cancel the passports of deportees to prevent them from securing visas again. The government has sought final recommendations within seven days, signalling a rapid enforcement timeline.
“To stop illegal immigration, an AI-based app pilot project is being launched in Islamabad from January,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said following a high-level meeting chaired by him and Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Chaudhry Salik Hussain.
Naqvi said the new screening technology is intended to determine travelers’ eligibility in advance, reducing airport off-loads and closing loopholes exploited by traffickers and unregistered agents.
The interior minister added that Pakistan remains in contact with foreign governments to improve the global perception and ranking of the green passport, while a uniform international driving license will be issued through the National Police Bureau.
The meeting also approved zero-tolerance measures against fraudulent visa brokers, while the Overseas Pakistanis Ministry pledged full cooperation to streamline the emigration workflow. Minister Hussain said transparency in the protector process has become a “basic requirement,” particularly for labor-migration cases.
Pakistan’s current immigration system has long struggled with document fraud, with repeated cases of passengers grounded at airports due to forged papers or agent-facilitated travel. The launch of an AI screening layer, if implemented effectively, could shift the burden from manual counters to pre-flight verification, allowing authorities to identify risk profiles before departure rather than after arrival abroad.
The reforms also come at a moment when labor mobility is tightening globally. Gulf states have begun demanding greater documentation assurance for imported labor, while European and Asian destinations have increased scrutiny following trafficking arrests and irregular-entry routes from South Asia. For Pakistan, preventing fraudulent departures is increasingly linked to protecting genuine workers, reducing deportation cycles and stabilizing the country’s overseas employment footprint.
