A planned natural gas pipeline from Iran isn’t protected from Western economic sanctions, the Pakistani Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources said. A Pakistani Senate committee was told by the ministry that relaxed sanctions that came as a result of last year’s interim nuclear deal with Iran didn’t extend to a planned natural gas pipeline from Iran, Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported Tuesday. Pakistan says its aging infrastructure has left it with a crumbling energy sector and a subsequent need for an external source of natural gas. Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said companies normally slated for pipeline construction on the Pakistani side of the border would likely face sanctions once the work began. Iran says it has the pipeline completed on its side of the border. The Pakistani government said it wants to meet with its Iranian counterparts to discuss the issue later this […]