Pakistan’s Zardari to visit Iran March 11
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari will visit Iran's port of Chabahar next Monday to attend the inaugural ceremony of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, an informed Pakistani source said.
Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman Moazzam Ahmad Khan said at the weekly news briefing in Islamabad Thursday that several heads of states have also been invited to attend the inaugural ceremony, IRNA news agency reported.
He said Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources is working out details.
He rejected the impression that Pakistan was in a fix over the project due to foreign pressures and said given the project's being in its national interests, the country is committed to go ahead with it.
The spokesman said Pakistan is aware of concerns of the United States and some other countries about the project, but hoped that they would understand Pakistan's economic compulsions in this regard.
Responding to a question, he said discussions are also going on with Iran about setting up of an oil refinery at Gwadar in Pakistan's Balochistan.