US officials have threatened to impose sanctions on the Pakistani government following reports that they intend to construct a natural gas pipeline to neighboring Iran, which would be used to import gas into energy poor Pakistan.
Pakistan has been struggling with energy shortages for years, making rolling blackouts a regular part of life across much of the nation, with many towns seeing electricity at best 8 hours a day.
The US, however, says that their own aid program considers Pakistan’s energy needs a “top priority” and that they should consider buying gas from someplace else, or getting involved in India’s pipeline through Afghanistan.
But US aid has done little for the provision of energy so far, and is constantly being threatened for political gain at any rate. Likewise, rival India is unlikely to allow Pakistan to get involved in their own pipeline scheme even if they wanted to. Iran, then, is the cheapest and most sensible alternative.
