Tehran and Islamabad are increasing cooperation in the energy sector according to reports from Iran and Pakistan. Teaming up on oil and gas could grant Iran increased influence within its already-chaotic eastern neighbor.

Pakistan’s Daily Times reported that Iran’s ambassador visited with government energy heads last Friday:

Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Mr. Ahsanullah Khan, said there exists tremendous scope for promoting Pak-Iran ties in the oil, gas and mineral sectors and invited the Iranian companies to participate in the upcoming petroleum projects ….Expressing his sentiments, the Iranian envoy said that ipi gas pipeline project would not only open up new avenues of cooperation among the member states but also help to bring the regional countries closer.

According to Iran’s Press TV, Khan said that Pakistan’s energy reserves provide good opportunities for Iranian investment.

Mashallah Shakeri, the Iranian ambassador to Islamabad, said, “The peace pipeline project will not only open new chapter in cooperation among the two countries, but also help strengthen bonds between regional states.”

Press TV reported, “Expressing their sense of achievement concerning the actual construction of the gas pipeline linking Iran to Pakistan, the two sides called for swift completion of the project, which will enhance regional cooperation” (January 6).

The two countries will sign a gas sales and purchase agreement for the pipeline project next week.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf fully supports cooperation with Iran on the pipeline.

Increasing overtures from the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism and the largest threat to American interests in the Middle East toward the politically unstable, nuclear-armed, Islamist-leaning Pakistan can only mean problems for Washington. For more, read “Pakistan and the Shah of Iran,” “The Bhutto Blunder” and The King of the South.