Pakistan PM Imran Khan flies for Moscow, likely to meet Vladimir Putin: Report

Imran Khan voiced concern about the scenario in Ukraine, the likelihood of fresh sanctions, and the impact on Islamabad’s growing relationship with Moscow.

According to a report by Reuters, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan went to Moscow on Wednesday to press for the building of a long-delayed, multibillion-dollar gas pipeline in conjunction with Russian firms.

Khan’s visit to meet with President Vladimir Putin and discuss matters like economic cooperation comes just hours after a number of Western countries imposed further sanctions on Russia for its military deployment in eastern Ukraine.

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“Both countries are eager to launch the project at the earliest,” a spokesman for Pakistan’s energy ministry told Reuters of the Pakistan Stream gas pipeline. He revealed that Khan’s visit will be accompanied by Energy Minister Hammad Azhar.

The 1,100 km (683 miles) pipeline, also known as the North-South gas pipeline, was first agreed to in 2015 and was to be financed by both Moscow and Islamabad, with a Russian company constructing it.

In an interview before his trip, Khan voiced worry about the situation in Ukraine, the likelihood of fresh sanctions, and the impact on Islamabad’s fledgling collaboration with Moscow. It is uncertain how the additional restrictions would affect the project, which would transport imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Karachi on the Arabian Sea coast to power facilities in Punjab’s northeastern region.

The venture is crucial for Pakistan, particularly the power industry, as the country’s reliance on imported LNG rises in the face of diminishing domestic gas resources. Because of prior barriers, the pipeline work has already been delayed.

“This North-South pipeline suffered, one of the reasons…was the companies we were negotiating with, turned out that the U.S. had applied sanctions on them,” Khan told Russia Today on Tuesday.