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Naik hopes Pak will allow steady piped-gas supply

Union Petroleum Minister Ram Naik said on Monday that he expected a 'positive' outcome from the Indo-Pak summit to the proposed Indo-Iran gas pipeline and that India wanted Pakistan to ensure 'safe and uninterrupted supply of natural gas till the Indian border.'

"I had submitted a detailed note regarding the Indo-Iran pipeline to Prime Minister Vajpayee and I want to ensure the safety of the gas and also need a guarantee that supply would be uniterrupted, if it would pass through the soil of our neighbours (Pakistan) till the Indian border," Naik told reporters in Bombay on Monday.

He said a joint commission of the Indo-Iran officials had held a meeting three weeks ago and chalked out three options for transporting the gas from Iran to India via deep sea, off shore or on land.

"Since the land option is the least costly, I am sure that something positive will come out of the crucial Agra summit talks," the minister added.

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