Pakistan, June 16 -- The fall out of recent Iran - USA Israel war exposed, with shocking precision, how vulnerable Pakistan remains to disruptions in sea-borne energy supplies. Pakistan's monthly fuel import bill nearly doubled, overnight when Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia had to step in as an emergency supplier for Pakistan which had no fallback option of its own. That exposure was the starting point for any honest discussion of Iran-Pakistan energy cooperation in a post-war environment.

The two countries have long had a gas pipeline agreement that existed more on paper than on ground. The commercial agreement was signed in 2009 and the project was formally inaugurated in March 2013. This inauguration at Pakistan's end,...