Pipe Dreams?

RE# 14

wiseguy,

Not everbody in Pakistan has Indian ancestry. I am one example.

regards,

haideri

Re: # 10 hamidm

before investing in any part of the world, anyone would look at return on investment prospects. Thats what everyone is worried about. Today mushy will agree, what if after 5 years the new general is more hawkish on kashmir? Pak armys/ISI`s nexus with islamic hardliners is not a secret nor is paks desire for kashmir.
Do you think any oil companies will invest billions in building pipelines through afghnistan at this poiint of time (even though it may be profittable)?
india would like to start trade but the pak establishment has a very canny way of putting kashmir (may be they want to protect domestic traders) before any other developments. In that case how do you trust the intentions?

Re: # 10
>> ... there is no reason to doubt our forefathers who warned us about the ....
Er, which forefathers ? The hindu ... ?

regards,
SN

#11 by Urstruly

[I don`t understand why on earth, hindus want to buy gas from us; they eat daal and bhaaji all the time.....so?]

If you`d been following the news lately, we aren`t BUYING gas from you. You CARRY Iranian gas from the Iranian border to the Indian border. Like everytime else, you are the middlemen or as they call it here, the DALAL.

In order to tie up paks fate with the pipeline, it is said that india may ask pak to build and maintian the pipieline (i.e. share the expenses) and india would pay for transit charges. So that any disruption will be a blow to paks share/investment too.

But i am a bit skeptical about how much of trust remians b/t the two countries. Just a couple of weeks back I read Aziz thundering: ``No trade without Kashmir``. It might be for domestic reasons but doesn`t help in building trust.

I don`t understand why on earth, hindus want to buy gas from us; they eat daal and bhaaji all the time.....so?

stop this nonsense, now !

............ based on the belligerent tone of the nine posts by assorted horrible hindoos, pakistan should stop talking to india right now !........it is a sheer waste of time......... i, for one, have always been against this cross border footsie with a neighbor who is carrying around god knows what kind of baggage - nothing good will come out of it, except a severe case of herpes ............... looke here, regardless of ``nice`` hindoos like stuka and dost-mittar, there is no reason to doubt our forefathers who warned us about the knife-in-armpit and ram-on-lips character of this nation ...........

............ i began to have my doubts about these people the day vereesh, blinded by his prejudice, couldn`t find any chemist shops in rawalpindi !!

Mani Shankar Aiyar is a sentimental fool. Just because his ancestral home happens to be in Pakistan and the Pakis gave him a warm welcome when he went to visit it, the fool is in a hurry to get the pipeline ready and in the process, give the Pakis a chance to hold India to ransom.

I agree with #4 by CoolAL -- an undersea pipeline, though more expensive, is the better alternative.

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re: this pipeline issue
When India wants transit facility thr` Pak to assist Afghanistan, Pak says it can`t give such facility until Kashmir issue is resoved. It has no such qualms over transit facility for a gas pipeline. What hypocrisy?
Sridhar

re: this article
The author says:
(Construction of a natural gas pipeline fro Iran to India via Pakistan with a cost of greater than US$5 billion is an extraordinary step for two long-term adversaries. If completed, the pipeline would provide both countries with a substantial supply of gas and allow Pakistan to reap $200-$500 million per year in transit fees and economies of scale. “The gas pipeline is a win-win proposition for Iran, India, and Pakistan,” Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz declared in January.)
Pak is still India`s enemy. At all levels. So, constructing a gas pipeline thr` an enemy territorry is a stupid thing to do. India will be putting its energy needs at the hands of Pak, giving it a leverage that it does not have. It is to be noted that India does have a leverage over Pak over the Indus waters issue as much of that water flows thr` India and Pak is a lower riperian country. India can potentially play havoc with Pak if it stops the water from flowing into the country, as can happen during times of war. India would not like to give the same leverage to Pak with respect to its burgeoning energy needs.
What is then the alternative for India?
Indian scientists recently acheived a breakthr` for safely using heavy water for converting Thorium to Uranium. This gives India a way out of its energy problems. Kerala has the highest deposits of Manzonite (source of thorium) in the world.
It is only after this breakthr` that US agreed to have nuclear co-operation. Nodoubt US is worried that such technology should not go into wrong hands. What better than to cooperate and secure India`s energy needs.
It is noteworthy here that a country like France meets most of its energy needs thr` nuclear reactors.
Besides, why have an enemy make profit from this endeavour when it also stands to gain by having an upper hand over the distribution of gas.
Author says Pak is a energy deficient nation. Sure. Why does Pak not build its own pipeline with Iran? why wait for India to join?
Reason is simple. Economics. It is not profitable to build a pipeline that extends to Pak alone without going into India, which is a vast market.
Sridhar

IMHO, it would be a big mistake by India to rely on a such a vital resource as oil
that will pass via pipeline passing through Pakistan.
Until Pakistani leadership and population evolves and Pakistani army is out of the picture,
India should stay away from any kind of relationship with Pakistan.
Until Pakistani mindset changes, India should look east and Pakistan should
continue looking west (and hope it prospers that way) with a big barrier in between.

The ideal solution is an undersea pipeline from Oman to Gujarat. This will get us all the Saudi, Omani, Qatari, Iranian AND Turkmanistani gas. Instead of building T-A-P, it should be T-I-I pipeline. (Turkmanistan-Iran-India) pipeline.

The land link via Pakistan is crazy. I would build the undersea pipeline first and THEN the land pipeline as an expansion option AFTER pakiland comes to its senses. It is better to take the financial hit up-front than be held hostage by the Jihadis. That we will be held hostage is quite apperant even to the terminally demented since the Pakistanis have crowed themselves hoarse as to why this is ``such a fantastic strategic option for Pakistan``.

Enough is enough....

#1 - Nabendu

India has to worry about not ``some`` radical element in Pakistan - but India has
to worry about - the *main* radical element in Pakistan, the Government of
Pakistan.

The pipeline is quite attractive as an incentive for reconciliation between India and Pakistan


WTF do you have in that pipe you`re smoking...

Pakis don`t want peace...they want a resolution of the core issue..which is code for they want Indian Kashmir on a platter...

Anyone who tells you otherwise is a deluded indian or a liar...

India`s determination to go ahead with the IPI pipeline shows that India does not need to, and hence will not, agree to any and every whim of the USA. The pipeline makes immense sense. The only wild card is whether Pakistan will be able to guarantee that some readical element in Pakistan will not be able to blow it up.