The United States, while once again making its concerns on the proposed Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project known, seems circumspect about the long term viability and success of the project itself, considering the fact that it has had several false starts already. Asked about the US perspective on the proposed pipeline, discussed during the trilateral summit (involving Afghanistan) in Islamabad, the US State Department spokesperson Nuland said, “We have concerns and have voiced them with the Pakistan government.” “The pipeline project has had numerous false starts. We’ve spoken to this many times before,” she said.
Asked about President Zardari s statement that Pakistan will continue the project against all, she said, “I’m not going to speculate where this is going to go We think it’s a bad idea; we’ve made that clear.” However, she said the US was pro cooperation between Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran, to support the Afghan peace process. Asked about countries still trading with Iran despite US efforts to impose sanctions, she said the US administration was engaged in conversations with all such governments on the importance of implementing existing international sanctions.