The stalled talks over the trans‑border gas link with Iran have kept energy planners in Islamabad on edge, as the country’s dwindling domestic gas reserves push utilities to look abroad for relief. After months of legal wrangling and an unresolved arbitration case, the government has taken a decisive step to break the deadlock.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the formation of a high‑level committee tasked with untangling the legal, financial and technical issues surrounding the Pak‑Iran gas pipeline, a move disclosed by Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz during a briefing to the Senate.
The newly constituted panel will bring together senior officials from the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the State Bank, as well as independent experts in international arbitration. Its mandate is to assess the outstanding claims, evaluate the cost‑benefit of continuing the project and chart a path toward a negotiated settlement with Tehran, rather than pursuing a protracted court battle.
Minister Pervaiz stressed that the government is keen to avoid further complications that could arise from extended litigation, which could jeopardise both the timeline and the commercial viability of the 1,100‑kilometre pipeline. A swift resolution, he said, is essential to secure the projected 30 billion cubic metres of natural gas that Pakistan hopes to import annually once the line becomes operational.
The pipeline, conceived during the early 2010s to diversify Pakistan’s energy mix, has been stalled since 2023 when Iran invoked an arbitration clause over alleged breaches of the bilateral agreement. The dispute has kept the $2.5 billion project in limbo, delaying the much‑needed gas supplies that would alleviate chronic load‑shedding and support power‑intensive industries in Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
If the committee succeeds in reaching a settlement, the deal could revive the long‑awaited cross‑border conduit, bolster bilateral ties and provide a modest but strategic boost to Pakistan’s energy security. Conversely, any further delay may force the country to seek alternative, costlier sources of gas, straining an already tight fiscal budget and complicating its commitments under the national energy policy.