By Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Pakistan
Pakistan and Iran agreed Friday to remove bottlenecks in the execution of a much awaited Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project.
The project has apparently been in the doldrums because of the U.S. sanctions on Iran.
Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain assured Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani in a meeting in Islamabad that Pakistan was still committed to the project to cope with its growing energy needs.
The two leaders also discussed the tense situation at their borders and agreed to chalk out a combined border monitoring mechanism.
Diplomatic ties between the two Islamic republics have not been easy since the last few years. Iranian authorities blame Pakistan for not taking action against the Sunni militant group, Jundullah, that has been involved in various attacks on Iranian border guards and terrorist activities in Iran.
Larijani is on a two-day visit to Islamabad on the invitation of his Pakistani counterpart Ayaz Sadiq.
The 1,700 kilometers (1,056 miles) long gas pipeline project was inaugurated by former Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and his then Iranian counterpart Mahmud Ahmedinejad in March 2013 in the Iranian border town of Chahbahar.
The multi-million dollars project aims to provide 750 million cubic feet of gas per day to Pakistan. The project was supposed to be completed by January 2015.
Iran says it already has laid down 900 kilometers (559 miles) long pipeline within its territory. However, work is yet to begin on the 785 kilometers (487 miles) of pipeline on the Pakistani side.
The U.S. is said to have applied pressure on its ally to stay away from the project with Iran, though Pakistan officially denies this.
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