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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan warned India on Friday against using a six-month sanctions waiver granted by the United States to operate Iran’s Chabahar Port — a key trade route to Afghanistan that bypasses Pakistan — to promote cross-border militancy in the restive, southwestern Balochistan province.

India signed a 10-year contract with Iran last year to develop and operate the port and this month stepped up its engagement with Taliban-ruled Afghanistan by reopening its embassy in Kabul, which was closed after the Afghan group seized power in 2021. The port on Iran’s southeastern Gulf of Oman coast was initially planned with a rail link to Afghanistan to help build the landlocked country’s economy through trade and reduce Kabul’s dependence on Pakistani ports.

The waiver was announced by Indian authorities after Washington said it was seeking to reach a broader trade deal with New Delhi following earlier tariff disputes under the administration of President Donald Trump.

Addressing his weekly news conference, foreign office spokesman Tahir Andrabi said Pakistan had taken note of the development.

“First of all, let me make one point clear. We welcome any decision that leads to the economic development and improvement of trade and business prospects in our brotherly country of Iran,” he said, adding that it was Washington’s sovereign decision to grant the waiver as the country that had originally imposed sanctions.

“We would warn India to not use or abuse this opening to promote terrorism, subversion, particularly the terrorism and subversion of Fitnah Al-Hindustan, into Pakistan through the adjacent borders,” he continued, referring to separatist groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). “India has promoted cross-border terrorism from this area into Pakistan in the past. It must desist in doing so in the future.”

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but poorest province, has long been plagued by an insurgency that has intensified in recent months, with separatist militants increasingly targeting security personnel, government officials, infrastructure, and non-local residents.

The province is strategically significant for its vast mineral wealth and as a transit hub for the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Islamabad accuses India of backing anti-Pakistan militant factions operating from the region, a charge New Delhi denies.
Andrabi said Pakistan had taken notice of an ongoing military exercise by Indian forces near the border, adding that Pakistan’s military was keeping a close watch.

“Any misadventure by India will be tackled with a quid pro quo-plus response,” he warned. “We have assured it before and we can assure it again.”

The two South Asian nuclear-armed neighbors fought a brief but intense war earlier this year in May, involving missile, drone, and artillery exchanges, before a ceasefire was announced by US President Donald Trump on May 10.

With input from Reuters

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday announced the results of its first offshore bidding round in nearly two decades, awarding 23 exploration blocks to four consortiums led by local energy companies in a renewed push to unlock the country’s untapped hydrocarbon reserves.

The Offshore Bid Round 2025, launched in January after an 18-year gap, attracted bids covering about 53,500 square kilometers of Pakistan’s offshore zone.

The Ministry of Energy said the outcome reflected “strong investor confidence” in the upstream sector following new production-sharing agreements and regulatory reforms designed to ensure transparency and competitiveness.

“A recent basin study conducted by the US firm DeGolyer and MacNaughton (D&M) has indicated a significant yet-to-find potential of hydrocarbons in Pakistan’s offshore basins,” the ministry said in a statement in which it announced receiving bids “for twenty-three (23) offshore blocks.”

The government said the round offered blocks across the Indus and Makran basins, aiming to spur systematic exploration after years of limited drilling activity.

Among the successful bidders are state-run Oil and Gas Development Co. Ltd. (OGDCL), Pakistan Petroleum Ltd. (PPL), MariEnergies, and privately owned Prime Energy, backed by Hub Power Company (Hubco).

Foreign and private-sector partners include Turkiye’s national oil company TPAO, Hong Kong-based United Energy Group, Orient Petroleum, and Fatima Petroleum, part of Pakistan’s Fatima Group conglomerate.

The winning consortiums collectively pledged about $80 million in exploration work over the first three years, with total investment potentially rising to $750 million to $1 billion if drilling proceeds, the ministry said.

Pakistan’s 300,000-square-kilometer offshore zone, bordering Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, has seen just 18 wells drilled since independence, too few to fully assess its hydrocarbon potential.

The ministry added that once geological and geophysical studies are completed, Pakistan will invite global oil majors to participate in the next phase of offshore exploration.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the participation of international and local companies, calling it a step toward strengthening Pakistan’s energy security and reducing import dependence.

With input from Reuters.