Last month’s visit of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi to Pakistan raised many an eyebrow. The social media was abuzz with rumours that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was linking financial assistance to Pakistan’s nuclear and missile programmes. Concerns were being raised about the visit of the IAEA chief, which was being linked to the government’s failure to strike a deal with the IMF to resume the loan programme.
According to the Foreign Office statement, Mr Grossi was visiting Pakistan to attend bilateral meetings and visit institutions using nuclear technology in the fields of health, agriculture, industry and power generation. So strong were the rumours that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar refutes them, saying there would be “no compromise” on the country’s nuclear and missile programmes. Mr Dar, while speaking in the Senate about the ongoing talks with the IMF, snubbed the demand for abandoning the long-range nuclear missile programme, making it clear that nobody could dictate Pakistan on strategic issues.
However, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) was not ready to buy their words.
The party’s vice chairman, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, criticised Finance Minister Dar for speaking on the country’s missile programme in the parliament and called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to issue a policy statement in this regard. Speaking at a press conference, Mr Qureshi said if the prime minister could not issue a policy statement, then an in-camera session should be held.
He wanted the government to clarify why the IMF deal was not being finalised when all of its demands had been met. He asserted that no one could tell us “what kind of nuclear programme we should have and missiles of which range we should have. We have our atomic arsenal South Asia-specific and to ensure our defence”.
“There is national consensus over the atomic assets and we will protect them no matter which government is in power,” he added. The nuclear programme issue even echoed in a Senate committee of the US. During a hearing at the US Senate Armed Services Committee, Centcom Commander Gen Michael E. Kurilla said he was confident of Pakistan’s nuclear security procedures.
Until a final agreement with the IMF does not materialise, there would be no end to talks about the nuclear programme. The international money lender, on the other hand, wants Islamabad to receive funds from friendly countries first before it agrees to initiate the bailout plan.
Such demands give rise to theories. The first one has weightage.
The IMF wants a guarantee from the present government that the programme would not be derailed by any future setup and for that, it wants a guarantee from the PTI.
Second, it also wants Pakistan’s friendly countries to fulfil their commitments. The last and most serious is that the delay is linked to reaching a compromise on the nuclear and missile programmes. If the last option is true, it is concerning. No government would dare compromise on these strategic programmes. Pakistan should not be pushed to the wall on matters that are linked to its security.
