Iran offers provision of cheap gas to Pakistan

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Iran offers provision of cheap gas to Pakistan

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Iranian President Ahmedinejad has offered provision of low cost gas supply to Pakistan.

17 February,2012 10:14 pm

Irans president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad has quietly offered to finance the Pakistani portion of a multinational gas pipeline project opposed by the United States, in a strong signal of Tehrans intent to build closer ties with its neighbor.Ahmedinejad left Pakistan Friday after meeting with Pakistans president Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan president Hamid Karzai, a trilateral summit seeking a formula to stabilize conditions in Afghanistan.A joint statement issued by Pakistans foreign ministry after the meeting said the three countries agreed to develop mutually beneficial cooperation in the energy, mining and minerals, agriculture and other sectors without providing further details.Asked about the pipeline Friday, Zardari said, Iran and Pakistan are neighbors. We need to interdependent on each other. Our bilateral relationships cannot be considered or undermined by any international pressure of any kind.Last summer, Iranian officials surprised their Pakistani counterparts when they disclosed that Iran had already built the pipeline to within 50 kilometers of Pakistans border. The revelation from Iranian officials came just months after Pakistan experienced ugly riots in some of its larger cities when protests broke out over gas shortages.