Pak plans pipeline to boost bilateral ties

Islamabad: President Pervez Musharraf is pushing for the construction of gas and oil pipelines between his country and China to bolster bilateral ties, he said, during a visit that has highlighted security concerns.

'Pakistan is very much in favour of a pipeline between the Gulf and China through Pakistan, and I have been speaking about this with your leadership,' Musharraf told a gathering of students and academics in Beijing. The two countries have explored proposals to use Pakistan as a pipeline corridor, bringing oil and gas from the Middle East to China.

He said a proposed gas pipeline between Iran and India through Pakistan could be expanded to include China. Pakistan's proposals to become a main energy link for China have not moved much beyond vague talks, but Musharraf said they were 'very much possible,' even with the high-altitude border between the two nations.

When asked by a student at Tsinghua University about the chances of China joining the gas pipeline project, President Musharraf said a feasibility report had already been prepared, which makes the project viable.

'(But) why this can't be IPC (Iran-Pakistan-China) pipeline?' the President said in terms of the possibility of the project. He said the gas pipeline from Pakistan's south to the Khunjerab Pass, linking the two countries, would be raised till it crossed the pass at 15,000 feet, thereafter more than half of the length would be in descent.

He said Pakistan also proposed building the fibre and rail link along Karakorum Highway for better connectivity, which would link Gwadar port with China. A Chinese firm has already conducted the feasibility study and has submitted its report to President Hu Jintao.

President Musharraf said when completed, the project could claim to be ninth wonder of the world and would go a long way in further boosting trade and commerce ties between the two countries. He mentioned the two countries' interests on the prospects of building an oil and gas pipeline along the KKH to meet the future energy needs of the two countries.