The dividing pipeline

On the one hand it is argued that the Gas Pipeline through Pakistan will ensure its economic interest and thereby a stake in peace with India. Secondly it is being considered an instrument of restraining America from gaining an unchecked supremacy in the South-East Asia. Both these arguments appear to be contradictory at the deeper level.

In any case India needs to be cautious on many counts. First and the foremost is the dominance of the fundamentalist elements in Pakistan army and its political set up whose only interest is destabilizing India through terrorism. In recent past terrorist infiltration into Kashmir has increased while in Punjab terrorism is again showing signs of raising its head. In such a situation can India entrust its economic and security interests with Pakistan in the form of Gas Pipeline?

Secondly Iran8217;s internal situation has never been very encouraging for India. Its tainted relations with America will only add to our avoidable problems. Given the Iranian approach towards India vis-a-vis Pakistan during the last two decades, India needs to reassess the whole project, notwithstanding our urgent need of fuel energy.

It would be rather too early to think of a complex and integral economic inter-dependence between India and Pakistan, when both the countries have not even reached the stage of mutual cooperation on fighting terrorism or initiating free trade through land routes. Hence in such a politico-economic scenario India needs to rethink on the viability of a Gas Pipeline from Iran to India through Pakistan.
Ved Guliani

8226; Your article has pointed out the complexities inherent in strategic choices our country faces today and visualizes the dangers posed by simplistic overtones in public discourse. I would have preferred to add another strategic scenario in the debate, that of continuing with status quo of so called 8217;isolation8217; and pushing our efforts in indigenous technology.

There have been too many references to the low efficiency and high cost of home grown civilian nuclear technology in current debate without appreciating the that this is the natural growth process applicable to any technology development effort. US has not been able to reach technological superiority without sustaining this seemingly un-productive and wasteful phase of technology growth through huge public subsidies. Did we not notice two years and US 1.4 billion wasted in the recent launch by NASA to avoid , without success, error of the last launch.

True our resources do not permit much luxury on this account but can we not afford this in even one area? Anyway we are applying state of the art globally available technologies in petroleum sector and should intensify the same in coal technology. Of course, decision on this scenario should not be based on a sense of pride or jingoism but on clear assessment of future leverage and spin-offs. We should clearly work out the cost and time frame for this scenario. I am sure we do not beleive that nations become great power overnight without any sacrifices and by borrowing technology from another great power.
Raj Bhadra Singh

8226; If the EU-US negotiations with Iran fail, sanctions will follow. These will be in addition to already-existng US laws restricting commerce with Iran. The upshot will be that, as the PM said, financing for a project involving Iran will be difficult to come by. Perhaps China would invest some of its hoard of US dollars. But the basic reality is that to speed the pipeline, which is a fine idea, Iran must be encouraged to reach an acceptable settlement with the West. This is the practical fulcrum, not the politics of defiance.
David Salmon