Pakistan, March 3 -- The common man and the middle class have been hit by the ever-escalating cost of mainly two utilities - electricity and gas. Frequent load-shedding of both is common, much to the dismay of the users of both facilities. We now hear about the work to start on the gas pipeline from Iran to Pakistan via Balochistan.

The relevant cabinet committee of the government has recently decided to build an 80km length of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, starting from the Iranian border to Gwadar. It will cost about Rs44 billion; otherwise Pakistan may have to a pay huge penalty amounting to $18 billion to Iran for abrogating the contract. Iran has already completed a major portion of the pipeline up to Pakistan's border.

Discussions b...