TAPI project good for 'energy starved' Indo-Pak: Former Pak envoy

Amit Shankar

Mary (Turkmenistan), Dec. 13 (ANI): Former Pakistan Ambassador to Turkmenistan Tariq Osman Hyder said that Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project will serve as a 'good confidence building measure' between India and Pakistan, adding that it would also bolster peace and stability in Southasia region.

Speaking to ANI at the ceremony of the TAPI gas pipeline project in Mary, Hyder said the pipeline would immensely help economies of India and Pakistan which, according to him, are energy starved.

"I have good expectations. It is late (the TAPI Project), 21 years back when I was ambassador here it was started. India and Pakistan are both energy starved, so it will be very good for our economies. In Afghanistan, all the factions will realise that you can make more with peace than with war. It will also be a good confidence building measure between India and Pakistan. If it helps peace and stability in Southasia then it is good for the region and world," he told ANI.

"It will help the economies (of India and Pakistan). India and Pakistan need more than one pipeline, at least two. If the Iranian pipeline goes through then it will be a good idea and it will help economies," he added.

Earlier, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, who attended the TAPI gas pipeline project ceremony in Mary, had thanked the Afghanistan President and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for their active involvement in the project. He had said that their commitment augured well for the entire region.

Recently, during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Turkmenistan in July 2015, both India and Turkmenistan had reaffirmed strong commitment towards timely implementation of this strategic project for the common benefit of people of the four countries.