Under pressure from the United States not to go ahead with the Iran-India gas pipeline project, Pakistan has said it will take a final decision on it by the yearend.
"December 31 is the deadline for a decision on the gas pipeline project," Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told the media in Islamabad on Thursday.
Pakistan will decide by that date whether it will go ahead with the Iran-India gas pipeline or opt for either the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan pipeline or another pipeline from Qatar, Aziz said.
Aziz noted that Indian Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar has been invited by his Pakistani counterpart for talks in early June on the Iran-India gas pipeline, which is to be laid through Pakistan.
"The petroleum ministers from Qatar and Turkmenistan have already visited Pakistan to discuss the matter," Aziz said, adding Pakistan has already offered India an 'energy corridor' to get gas either from Iran or Turkmenistan.
The Iranian petroleum minister is also expected to visit Islamabad next month, he said.