Chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mushahid Hussain Sayed lauded the courageous stance taken by Zardari over the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, stating that the credit for protecting the national interest of the country went to the political leadership of the country.
Mushahid said that the President took a courageous stance and threats from many quarters did not deter his strong resolve and he managed to ink a historical gas pipeline project with Iran.
He said that the President took a bold step to sign Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline by setting aside external pressure and did not compromise on national interest.
He said that the leadership of the country never compromised over the national interests despite lots of pressure.
Iran and Pakistan on Monday officially inaugurated the construction phase of a gas pipeline project which is due to take Iran's rich gas reserves to the energy-hungry South Asian nation.
The project kicked off in a ceremony attended by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari at the two countries' shared border region in Iran's Southeastern city of Chabahar.
The 2700-kilometer long pipeline was to supply gas for Pakistan and India which are suffering a lack of energy sources, but India has evaded talks. In 2011, Iran and Pakistan declared they would finalize the agreement bilaterally if India continued to be absent in the meeting.
According to the project proposal, the pipeline will begin from Iran's Assalouyeh Energy Zone in the south and stretch over 1,100 km through Iran. In Pakistan, it will pass through Baluchistan and Sindh but officials now say the route may be changed if China agrees to the project.
