Tasnim � Iran�s ambassador to Islamabad expressed the hope that Pakistan�s new government would complete a long-awaited gas pipeline between the two neighboring countries, saying the project will bring considerable benefits for Pakistanis.

In an interview with Tasnim, Mahdi Honardoost said the supply of Iranian gas to Pakistan could uplift Pakistani�s economy and help it remedy the power deficiency in the country.

Iran and Pakistan have a large young population, the ambassador noted, saying completion of the gas pipeline will create numerous jobs.

The supply of Iranian gas to Pakistan will have great positive impacts on Pakistan�s economy, Honardoost underlined, expressing the hope that the new Pakistani government would take practical measures to complete the project.

The envoy also denounced foreign pressures hampering the gas pipeline project, saying international law prohibits third parties from preventing the flow of energy between two countries.

�We acknowledge that Iran-Pakistan friendship has enemies, but we should not allow the enemies to decide for us. We must only care about the mutual interests and people of the two countries,� the ambassador stated.

Iran has so far spent more than $2 billion on the gas pipeline project and fulfilled much of its commitments, he said, adding that only a 180 km section of the pipeline on the Iranian soil remains to be completed.

�Should Pakistan take a positive step, we will rapidly finish the remaining section,� the ambassador went on to say.

Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, which stretches for 900 kilometers only in Iran, has been designed to help populous Pakistan overcome its growing energy needs.

Pakistan has fallen short of constructing the 700-kilometer part of the pipeline on its territory.