US not pressurising Pak over Indo-Iran pipeline: Croker

Press Trust of India:

The US is not pressurising Pakistan to stay away from the proposed Indo-Iran gas pipeline, American Ambassador to Islamabad, Ryan C Croker, has said. READ MORE

The US "does not believe in exerting pressures on strategic partners like Pakistan on any question," he told local daily 'The News' when asked about reported American pressure on Islamabad against joining the proposed USD 4.16 billion Indo-Iran gas pipeline, which is to pass through this country.

Croker said Washington was fully aware of Pakistan's needs for having more and more energy resources.

"The question from where and how Pakistan would get the much needed energy for its future plans that is a separate question," the US Ambassador was quoted as saying by the paper.

Indian Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar is currently on a visit to Pakistan. Yesterday, he met Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, who gave strong backing to the proposed Iran-India gas pipeline and said it was "an independent project, which cannot be linked to any other issue."

The American Ambassador said Pakistan, which is an independent and sovereign country, has every right to look into various sources for acquiring energy since many options would be available to it.

Pakistan would have to decide about the source of its choice the best suited to it and obviously Pakistan would like that sources should be safe and credible, he said.