We are on the right track: Ansari

TAPI pipeline will help reopen trade route from India to Central Asia, says the Vice-President

Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and his Turkmenistan counterpart Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow during the groundbreaking ceremony of the TAPI project at Mary in Turkmenistan on Sunday. Photo: PTI

The groundbreaking ceremony of the TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) project provided yet another multilateral setting for a meeting between the Indian and Pakistani leadership this week, as Pakistan Prime Minister Nawa Sharif and Indian Vice-President Hamid Ansari met along with Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to press a button that forged the first piece of the pipeline.

Speaking to reporters on board his plane as he returned from the Turkmenistan town of Mary where the gas pipeline will originate, Mr. Ansari said his meeting with Mr. Sharif had been “very cordial.”

“We are on the right track, I think,” said Mr. Ansari, about the prospects for India-Pakistan ties.

The Vice-President also said the pipeline would allow a reopening of the trade route from India to Central Asia, which had “been sealed off by the British centuries ago.”

Earlier, the Afghanistan President said TAPI would become a “superhighway of cooperation” between all the member-countries. According to an agreement between the four countries, a fibre-optic cable as well as electricity transmission lines would also be laid along the 1,735 km route of the pipeline.

Referring to concerns over security for the pipeline, Mr. Ansari had said “negative forces” and “misguided elements” must not be allowed to challenge the project.

Bridging energy deficit

When completed, TAPI will supply crucial energy to bridge Pakistan’s energy deficit, as well as provide India between 15-25% of its natural gas needs. In addition, experts said the commercial partnership between the two countries, with India paying Pakistan transit fees, could give other projects like the pipeline from Iran (IPI) higher chances of success, as long as the security of the project was guaranteed.

Meanwhile, a spat over a possible Taliban threat to the TAPI broke out between the Pakistan and Afghanistan governments, after Pakistan Defence Minister Khwaja Asif was quoted as saying that Pakistan could “reach out” to the Afghan Taliban to ensure the pipeline’s security. In response, the Afghan defence spokesperson said, “If Pakistan can ask Taliban not to attack TAPI, we would repeat our demands to help end the war in Afghanistan too.”