Pak PM Imran Khan gets no Russian commitment on gas pipeline

Moscow has made no commitment to Prime Minister Imran Khan's demand for sovereign guarantees on the proposed gas pipeline within Pakistan built with Russian support, ET has learnt.

The pipeline project was a key item on Khan's agenda during his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday.

During his visit, Khan had aimed to push for the construction of a long-delayed, multi-billion-dollar, gas pipeline to be built in collaboration with Russian companies.


Khan's visit to Moscow was widely criticised by several countries, including the United States, because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

At the end of the visit, in a two-line statement, Moscow said: "The leaders of the two countries discussed the main aspects of bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on current regional topics, including developments in South Asia." No joint statement was issued on the occasion.

The 1,100 km long pipeline, also known as the North-South gas pipeline, was initially agreed upon in 2015 and was to be financed by both Moscow and Islamabad, using a Russian company to construct it. It is interesting to note that China, which has its own energy transit interests in Pakistan, has expressed reservations with Pakistan over the gas pipeline.