Qureshi demands of Dar to clarify nukes statement

PTI vice chairman also asks foreign ministry to give explanation

LAHORE:

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi has demanded of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to clarify his statement regarding ‘not compromising on the country’s nuclear programme’ given in the Senate.

Last week, finance minister Ishaq Dar, in his address to the Senate, had said that Pakistan would not compromise on its nuclear programme for reviving the stalled IMF loan facility. His comment came in response to Senator Raza Rabbani’s concerns that he raised during a Senate session, wherein he asked whether the IMF programme was being delayed to force the government into resorting to moves that were against state interests.

Addressing a news conference on Sunday, the former foreign minister asked Dar to clarify whether the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had asked Pakistan to give up its nuclear weapons for the revival of the bailout package.

Qureshi underscored that the finance minister was a close relative of the ruling PML-N and his statement of critical national assets on the Senate floor was significant and could not be ignored.

“Dar’s statement has created a new crisis in the country. The Foreign Office spokesperson should also give a clarification in her weekly briefing.

On Friday, the FO vehemently denied that Pakistan’s nuclear programme was on the agenda with any “government, financial institution, or any international organisation".

The statement from spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch at a weekly news briefing came against the backdrop of speculations that Pakistan was under pressure to roll back its long-range nuclear missile programme.

Qureshi questioned why the spokesperson indicated that negotiations concerning nuclear power were not on the agenda of talks with any country or financial institution, asking why Dar had to give a statement on the Senate floor.

The PTI vice chairman asked the finance minister to tell the nation if the IMF had asked him for Pakistan’s nuclear programme. “What was need for giving such a big statement on the floor of the house? No one has the right to ask Pakistan about our nuclear programme. Our nuclear weapons are for our defence,” he underscored.

He highlighted that Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Raza Rabbani also asked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to give a policy statement on nuclear weapons.

He urged his successor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to also issue clarification.

On March 6, Rabbani said in a statement that the people of Pakistan had the right to know if the country’s strategic relationship with China or its nuclear assets were under strain.

“The people of Pakistan have a right to know if our strategic relationship with China or our nuclear assets are under threat or pressure … or if we are being called up to play a role in the region which will facilitate the military presence of an imperialist power.”

The statement came amid questions being raised in the media that due to the pressure on the country’s dwindling foreign exchange reserves, the IMF, other international financial institutions and the US were pressuring the government to make some commitments on the country’s nukes and its strategic partnership with China.