FO denies IAEA team visiting Pakistan

Spokesperson says such reports are fake news

ISLAMABAD:

 

Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch on Friday rejected the news circulating on the media regarding the visit of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) delegation to Pakistan.

The statement comes a day after notable figures within the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) US chapter, alongside numerous users whose online activity indicated support for the party, shared a video excerpt sourced from an Indian news broadcast by Zee News.

The segment featured a meeting between IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

“Stories regarding the visit of a high-level IAEA delegation to Pakistan are fake news,” Baloch said in a post shared on X.

She said that no IAEA official is currently visiting Pakistan, nor are any policy talks planned in the near future with the UN body. “We had briefed the media on the occasion,” she concluded.

Read more: Prospects of Pak-India peace grim, FO tells Shehbaz govt

During the meeting between PM Shehbaz and Grossi in February 2023, PM Shehbaz stressed greater collaboration with IAEA in terms of research on new high-yield and drought-resistant varieties of crops.
In a meeting with the Director General of IAEA, the prime minister emphasised collaboration in view of the impact of climate change on Pakistan and related challenges including water, energy and food security.

Shehbaz noted the contribution of nuclear power generation to Pakistan’s energy mix as a cleaner and more affordable source of energy.

The prime minister appreciated the ongoing cooperation between the IAEA and Pakistan in the areas of health, agriculture, industry, nuclear medicine and power generation.

He expressed Pakistan’s full support for various projects and programmes of the Agency and conveyed Pakistan’s keenness to expand its footprints in the Agency’s work both as a recipient and provider of expertise and technical assistance.

Grossi was briefed about the crucial role being played by the 19 cancer hospitals being operated by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) which were bearing the bulk of cancer burden in Pakistan and offering services to the general public at nominal rates.

The IAEA DG agreed to the need for expanding applications of nuclear technology in countries like Pakistan to address a whole suite of climate-related challenges.
With additional input from APP