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Pakistan says no basis for US objection to construction of Iran gas pipeline

Irani workers work on a section of a pipeline on March 11, 2013 at the Iranian border city of Chah Bahar. (AFP/File)
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Updated 07 March 2024
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Pakistan says no basis for US objection to construction of Iran gas pipeline

  • On February 23, the Pakistani cabinet approved the construction of an 80-kilometer segment of the gas pipeline
  • $7.5-billion project has faced repeated delays since it was conceived in 1990s to connect Iran to Pakistan and India
Updated 07 March 2024
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Thursday it had decided to initiate work on an 80-kilometer-long segment of the Pakistan-Iran pipeline, with “no room for any objections” from a third party like the United States since the project was being constructed within Pakistani territory.

The $7.5-billion project for 2,775-kilometer (1,724 mi) pipeline has faced repeated delays since it was conceived in the 1990s to connect Iran’s giant South Pars gas field to consumers in energy-hungry Pakistan and India.

Pakistan has pursued the pipeline as a way of alleviating severe energy shortages that have crippled the economy. At the same time, Islamabad badly needs the billions of dollars it receives in aid from the United States, which has steadfastly opposed the project, saying it could violate sanctions imposed on Iran over nuclear activities Washington suspects are aimed at developing an atom bomb. Iran denies this.

On February 23, Pakistan approved construction of part of the pipeline amid fears of a potential $18 billion penalty for failing to complete the project on time.

“The cabinet of Pakistan decided, a few days ago, to start work on 80 kilometers of Pakistan-Iran pipeline, and this is the beginning of construction of the pipeline and it is in conformity with our commitment to the Iran-Pakistan pipeline,” Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, foreign office spokesperson, said at a weekly briefing on Thursday, in response to a question on whether Islamabad had contacted Washington on the decision to begin constructing the pipeline.

“And since this pipeline is being constructed inside Pakistani territory, we do not believe there is room for any objections by any third party at this stage.”

India, unlike Pakistan, quit the project in 2009, citing costs and security issues — a year after it signed a nuclear deal with Washington.

Pakistan, for its part, has made little progress on its section of the line for lack of funds and warnings it could be in violation of US sanctions on Iran, which sits on the world’s largest reserves of gas. Iran has spent hundreds of millions of dollars and nearly completed the 900-km (560 mile) pipeline to the Pakistan border.

WAR IN GAZA

Speaking on the situation in Gaza, Baloch said Pakistan welcomed the extraordinary session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) held on Wednesday in Jeddah, and supported CFM’s “strong condemnation” of Israeli aggression against civilians in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Territory.

Israel has killed over 30,000 Palestinian men, women, and children since October 2023, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, while over 72,100 Palestinians have been injured in the war, which Israel refuses to call off despite growing calls from Muslim states, the United Nations, and global peace activists.

“The CFM has held the occupying power fully responsible for the ongoing genocide of civilians in Gaza and we join their call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and cessation of Israeli aggression and the provision of unimpeded and adequate humanitarian, medical, and relief programs,” the spokesperson said, adding that Pakistan had also called for the provision of water and electricity and the opening of humanitarian corridors to deliver urgent aid.

“As we move toward the holy month of Ramadan, we call for urgent relief to the people of Palestine and unrestricted access to Palestinians to pray in the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque,” she added.

Baloch said Pakistan believed that the UN Security Council was mandated under the UN Charter to play its role in bringing an end to Israeli aggression. 

“We have been engaged with all members of the United Nations Security Council and we have urged them to play their part in bringing an end to this atrocity,” she added.

The spokesperson said the main hurdle in the provision of assistance was Israeli authorities who had closed the normal routes for the provision of assistance, including the Rafah border.

Baloch said Pakistan has sent six shipments of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, five of them through the Rafah border and one which was airdropped with the help of Jordanian authorities. 

“Our assistance has been in the form of medicines, tents, and food,” she added.

Topics: Pakistan Iran Ties Pakistan Iran gas pipeline

In Peshawar, 76-year-old artist struggles to keep near-extinct Mughal wax art alive

Updated 4 sec ago
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In Peshawar, 76-year-old artist struggles to keep near-extinct Mughal wax art alive

  • Craft involves intricate process using heated wax, oil, pigments, limestone to create textured, miniature artworks
  • Riaz Ahmad, who has trained his son in wax art, says he hopes to train more people to preserve traditional craft 
Updated 4 sec ago
WASIM SAJJAD

PESHAWAR: Riaz Ahmad, 76, stirs wax in a small plastic can with a long chopstick, takes it out on the palm of his left hand and adds natural color before drawing designs on a piece of cloth.

Surrounded by several such pieces of black cloth with unique art, Ahmad strives every passing day to keep the 500-year-old, Mughal-era wax art alive at his home near the Lahori Gate in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar.

Ahmad comes from a well-known family of wax artists who were based in Shillong and Darjeeling in present-day India and had migrated to Peshawar during the 1947 partition of the sub-continent.

His work remains rooted in tradition, faithfully repeating patterns passed down through generations and winning Ahmad several awards both at home and abroad in recognition of his dedication.

“I have been making the same Mughal era designs that my forefathers used to make,” he told Arab News last week.

 

“I went to India in 2004, where I received the UNESCO Seal of Excellence [for Handicrafts] award... On 23 March, 2012, the Government of Pakistan awarded me the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz.”

The near-extinct traditional craft, which is believed to have originated in Central Asia and refined under the Mughal patronage, particularly in Peshawar, involves an intricate process using heated wax, linseed oil, powdered pigments, and limestone to create detailed, textured and often colorful miniature artworks by hand.

Ahmad learnt wax art from his father, Miran Bakhsh, nearly six decades ago.

“My parents used to do this work in Shillong and Darjeeling [in present-day India]. They had a shop there, and after the Partition, they migrated to Peshawar, Pakistan,” he said. “When they came here, they started doing the same work.”

A basic piece of his work costs around Rs3,000 ($10.7). A larger piece made on order can fetch between Rs5,000 and Rs15,000 ($17-$53), but such orders are rare.

“Wax and colors have become expensive. When I sell a piece for Rs3,000, around Rs1,000 goes into expenses, and Rs2,000 is my daily wage,” Ahmad said.

But the 76-year-old worries more about the future of the art form, which he insists cannot be learned quickly and requires “love and dedication.”

“Some people say they want to come, some from Karachi and some from Lahore, but it becomes difficult for me to go there or for them to come here,” he said.

Most wax artists in Peshawar have abandoned the art due to a lack of institutional support, according to Ahmad, who relies primarily on exhibitions to earn a living.

“The reason [for the decline of this art form] is that the government does not pay attention. They are caught in their own conflicts, and the culture is suffering,” Ahmad said.

“Other artists have left this art. Some are selling rice and some are driving rickshaws,” he added. “I have been doing this work inside my house. If there is any event, we go there and sell our art.”

Saad Bin Awais, a spokesperson for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority (KPCTA), said the government has engaged artisans in several projects. He said some of these projects have come to an end while others are ongoing.

“Riaz Ahmad is the only wax artist in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the authority is serious about facilitating him,” he said, adding that the KPCTA facilitates Ahmad’s participation in exhibitions across the country to showcase his art.

“We have also been collecting data of artists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for an upcoming project to facilitate them in any way possible.”

Ahmad has trained his son, Fayyaz, in wax art who now practices it in Islamabad. The septuagenarian says he wishes to train more people to preserve the dying art form.

“I cannot leave this work,” he said. “I will continue this art even though my hands shake.”

Topics: Wax art Pakistan Riaz Ahmad

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