ISLAMABAD, Nov 26: Former president Asif Ali Zardari has praised the agreement between Iran and the world powers, hoping that it will remove hurdles in the way of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline.

The Pakistan Peoples Party always stressed that dialogue, negotiations and diplomacy be employed to resolve the issue in the interest of peace and security and was heartened that dialogue and not force was used to arrive at the agreement, he said in a statement on Tuesday.

He said the agreement arrived at in Geneva and the relaxation in sanctions against Iran should also open the doors of further deepening cooperation particularly in the energy sector between Pakistan and Iran.

The government should use the opening provided by the agreement to persuade friendly countries to finance the pipeline project, the former president said.

Mr Zardari said the two developments in the region namely the easing of tensions between Iran and the West on the one hand and the endorsement by Afghan loya jirga of the Bilateral Security Agreement between Afghanistan and the US were significant for Pakistan in many ways.

The PPP hopes that the government keeps a close eye on these important developments taking place in the region. The government needs to take measures to position the country strategically advantageously in the wake of these developments ahead of the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan commencing in the next few months, he said.