ICST urges government to delay $10 billion TAPI project unless China participates

Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders on Tuesday said that energy imports from central Asia would be highly undependable therefore it should be reassessed before the country wastes billions of dollars in pursuit of energy security.

TAPI gas pipeline and transmission lines from Central Asia would pass through volatile Afghanistan being ruled by pro-Indian politicians and militants, which is a great risk, it said.

The government should not invest billions of dollars in risky projects and try alternate solutions to tame energy crisis which continues to haunt masses and the economy since long compromising GDP, said Patron Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders Shahid Rasheed Butt.

He went on to say that no country should be allowed to use energy as a weapon against Pakistan as a neighboring country was already using water as a weapon against it.

He said that economic corridor (CPEC) is a fate-changing project but it is not acceptable to some powers. These powers will use all the resources to damage CPEC and use every option to destabilize Pakistan.

He noted that a weak, corrupt and pro-India government in Afghanistan will be in a position to interrupt or discontinue the supply of gas and electricity to destabilize Pakistan.

It can blackmail Pakistan to provide a land route to India, which will be suicidal for Pakistan, he noted.

Work on the project can be delayed unless China takes a decision to participate in the ten billion dollar pipeline project, he demanded.

Turkmenistan's ability to feed the pipeline is not in question; rather it is the building of the pipeline across the high militant activity areas and ensuring consistent supplies from it that poses a challenge.

He stressed on the view that all discussions of TAPI and its completion will remain just words unless lasting peace in ensured in Afghanistan.