Iranian President Mahmoud Admadinejad and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari. Photo: AFP

Iranian President Mahmoud Admadinejad and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari attended a ground-breaking ceremony this week for a 7.5-billion USD oil pipeline on the border of the two countries. In a joint statement, the two leaders affirmed that the pipeline, once completed, will contribute to the peace, security and development of Iran and Pakistan. The oil pipeline project began with the US pressuring on Islamabad to back out of the project. Tehran has agreed to lend Islamabad $500 million, a third of the estimated $1.5 billion cost of the 780-km Pakistani section of the pipeline. Islamabad is still short the other 1 billion USD it needs to complete the project.