MEDIA REPORTS FURTHER TALKS ON IRAN PIPELINE DEAL BUT NO

UNCLAS ISLAMABAD 000508 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EFIN ECON EINV PREL PK SUBJECT: MEDIA REPORTS FURTHER TALKS ON IRAN PIPELINE DEAL BUT NO TRAVEL PLANS FOR PAKISTANI DELEGATION ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Local Pakistani media reports that further talks on the Iranian pipeline deal will occur February 14-16 in Tehran. As of February 4, government officials in Pakistan do not have travel plans to attend such meetings. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Local Pakistani media picked up the Iranian press reports over the weekend claiming that the petroleum ministers from India and Pakistan will travel to Tehran for further talks on the Iranian pipeline deal. According to the local reports, the February 14-16 meeting was "confirmed" by Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari at a news conference on February 1, 2008. ¶3. (SBU) Due the continued reluctance of the Government of Pakistan (GOP) officials to discuss the Iran pipeline deal with Embassy officials, ECON was unable to confirm Pakistani participation with any of the principals directly. However, ECON did contact the schedulers for each of the GOP negotiators who confirmed that travel plans have not been made. ¶4. (SBU) Personal secretary to the Caretaker Minister for Petroleum and Oil told Econoff that no travel to Iran is planned over the reported February 14-16 timeframe for the Caretaker Minister, Ahsan Ullah Khan. The GOP Deputy negotiator for the pipeline deal is the Secretary for Water and Power, Mr. Ismial Qurashi, who does not have SIPDIS any travel plans according, to his personal secretary. Furthermore, the personal secretary for the Secretary of Petroleum, Mr. Farrukh Qayyum, noted that, "as of today, there are no travel plans made for Tehran." ¶5. (SBU) Comment: Embassy will continue to monitor the local media and other sources for any information related to the Iran pipeline deal. As the deal edges toward completion, GOP officials in the substantive ministries have refused to discuss the pipeline and other energy issues with the Embassy. We will continue our efforts to reach out to the substantive ministries to convey our concerns and to push for alternative energy sources to stem Pakistan's increasingly severe energy crisis. End Comment. PATTERSON