ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Turkmenistan have decided to accelerate work on the TAPI pipeline project linking the energy-rich Central Asian country through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India, Radio Pakistan said on Friday.
The pipeline is expected to carry 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas each year along a route stretching 1,800 km (1,125 miles) from Galkynysh, the world’s second-biggest gas field, to the Indian city of Fazilka near the Pakistan border.
The project was launched in Afghanistan in 2018, when the Taliban was fighting the Western-backed government in Kabul, but it pledged its cooperation for a project it hailed as a key future element of the economic infrastructure.
Afghanistan, which suffers chronic energy shortages, is expected to take 5 percent of the gas itself, with the rest divided equally between Pakistan and India.
“Pakistan and Turkmenistan have decided to accelerate work on TAPI gas pipeline project,” Radio Pakistan reported after Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik met the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Cabinet of Turkmenistan, Rashid Meredow, who was on a two-day visit to Pakistan.
“Substantial progress has been made through collaboration on the TAPI Gas Pipeline project aimed at promoting economic integration and energy security,” Musadik was quoted as saying by Radio Pakistan.
The CEO of TAPI Pipeline Company who was also at the meeting said the pipeline project had made “significant progress and was on the right track due to the interest of Pakistan’s Ministry of Petroleum and Special Investment Facilitation Council.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredow said that a “roadmap” would be prepared for enhancing cooperation between Pakistan and Turkmenistan.
Turkmenistan, a former Soviet republic sitting on 4 percent of the world’s natural gas reserves, plans to triple gas output to 230 billion cubic meters (bcm) over the next 20 years. With a population of only 5 million, it will export nearly 80 percent.
Turkmenistan traditionally sends its gas north to Soviet-era master Russia but is becoming an increasingly important supplier to China, Iran and Europe. India and Pakistan, via the TAPI pipeline, would also offer potentially large new export markets.
Pakistan wants to position itself as a regional trade hub and to leverage its strategic geopolitical position and enhance its role as a pivotal trade and transit hub connecting the landlocked Central Asian reoublics with the rest of the world. In recent months, there has been a flurry of visits, investment talks, and economic activity between Pakistan and Central Asian states and meetings with leaders from Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.
Pakistan, Turkmenistan to accelerate work on trans-Afghan gas pipeline
https://arab.news/jz646
Pakistan, Turkmenistan to accelerate work on trans-Afghan gas pipeline
- TAPI pipeline will link energy-rich Central Asian country through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India
- India and Pakistan, via TAPI pipeline, will offer potentially large new export markets to Turkmenistan
Militants kill four peace committee members in northwestern Pakistan— police
- Victims were businessmen involved with the Peace Committee in its efforts against Pakistani Taliban, says police official
- Development takes a day after six cops were killed in IED blast in northwestern Tank district, signaling surge in militant attacks
ISLAMABAD: Four members of a pro-government peace committee were killed by militants in northwestern Pakistan’s Bannu district on Tuesday, a police official confirmed amid a surge in attacks in the area.
Peace committees in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province bordering Afghanistan comprise tribal elders who publicly oppose militant groups such as the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Members of the peace committee have long been targeted by militants for cooperating with security forces in counterinsurgency operations. These groups were first formed during Pakistan’s 2007–2014 conflict years to help defend villages and report militant movements.
The peace committee members were targeted in an area of Bannu district that falls under the jurisdiction of Huwaid Police Station, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Raza Khan told Arab News. The victims were attacked while they were traveling in a car in the morning.
“All four were businessmen and were actively involved with the Peace Committee in efforts against the Taliban,” Khan said.
According to a police report seen by Arab News, the deceased were identified as Naseeb Ur Rehman, Hamid Naseeb, Ziaullah, while the fourth person was identified as “Fauji.”
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi expressed sorrow over the loss of lives in the attack, a statement by the interior ministry said.
“All conspiracies aimed at undermining peace efforts in KP would be thwarted,” Naqvi said.
He said the nation stands united to foil the nefarious designs of the Pakistani Taliban or TTP militants, reaffirming the government’s commitment to restoring and maintaining peace in the province.
KP has been reeling from a surge in militant attacks in recent months. A day earlier, an improvised explosive device (IED) blast killed six police officers in the province’s Tank district.
No group has claimed responsibility for these attacks. However, the TTP has claimed responsibility for some of the deadliest attacks targeting law enforcement personnel in KP in the past. It has frequently targeted convoys of security forces, police stations and check-posts besides kidnapping government officials in the region.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of allowing the use of its soil to armed outfits such as the TTP. It has also alleged that India backs militant groups who carry out attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi have consistently denied this.
