ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday raised question over Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s statement on nuclear weapons in the Senate and demanded that the Finance Minister clarifies whether the International Monetary Fund (IMF) asked Pakistan for compromise on its nuclear program.
Addressing a news conference, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that Dar’s statement on the Senate floor was important.
“This statement has caused a new crisis in the country,” Qureshi said, adding that the Foreign Office spokesperson had to clarify the matter during her weekly press briefing.
“The spokeswoman says that talks regarding the nuclear program are not on the agenda of negotiations with any financial institution or country [then] why did Ishaq Dar give this statement on the floor of the Senate floor,” Qureshi questioned.
Qureshi asked Ishaq Dar to inform the nation if IMF has asked for a missile system. “Why did you make such a crucial statement on the Senate floor?” asked Qureshi. Qureshi said no one has the right to ask us about our nuclear program.
Ishaq Dar told Senate Pakistan not to compromise on nuclear program
“Our nuclear weapons are aimed at our defence,” the former foreign minister said, highlighting that PPP Senator Raza Rabbani has also asked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to give a policy statement on the nuclear program.
Qureshi said that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari should have issued a clarification.
Earlier this week, finance minister Ishaq Dar, in his address at the Senate, had said that the country would not compromise on its nuclear program to revive the stalled IMF loan facility.
