[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text dp_text_size=”size-4″]According to the news, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has dismissed claims that the global lender had imposed any constraints to Pakistan’s missile or nuclear programmes as part of the ninth review of the IMF-supported $7 billion loan programme.
The IMF comment coincided with remarks made by General Michael E Kurilla, Commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), before the US Senate Armed Services Committee, in which he expressed satisfaction with Pakistan’s nuclear security protocols.
IMF Resident Representative Esther Perez Luiz stated that there was “absolutely no reality” to any such insinuations, and that negotiations with the Pakistani authorities had solely focused on economic strategies to address the country’s economic and balance of payments concerns, as per the Fund’s mandate.
According to the IMF source, there has never been any discussion about Pakistan’s nuclear assets. “Nothing had been discussed previously, and nothing was on the table now,” the official continued.
Perez Luiz categorically disputed that the lender exerted pressure on Pakistan’s nuclear development at the ninth review of the IMF-supported programme. “Our conversations have only focused on economic strategies to address Pakistan’s economic and balance-of-payments issues, in accordance with the IMF’s mandate to promote macroeconomic and financial stability,” the statement continued.
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Fawad Chaudhry, head of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, had earlier claimed on March 17 that the IMF had requested Pakistan to cease its long-range missile programme.
But, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar stated that no one in Pakistan can compromise on the country’s nuclear and missile weapons. “We are responsible citizens of Pakistan, we represent the people of Pakistan, and we are here to protect the national interest of the country,” he stated last week before the Senate Committee of Whole.
Ishaq Dar promised senators that the staff-level deal with the IMF will be made public. He stated that once the personnel agreement is completed, it would be posted on the Finance Ministry’s website and nothing will be hidden.
“Nobody has any right to tell Pakistan what range of missiles it can have and what nuclear weapons it can have. We have to have our own deterrence,” said Dar.
For the first time, the finance minister brought the question of nuclear missile range into the public eye.
“Nobody is going to surrender anything on Pakistan’s nuclear or missile development – no way,” Dar said.
Meanwhile, US Central Command (Centcom) Chief General Michael E Kurilla expressed confidence with Pakistan’s nuclear security protocols during testimony before the US Senate Armed Services Committee.
“I am confidence in their (Pakistan’s) nuclear security protocols, and the US is comfortable with Pakistan’s nuclear programme,” General Kurilla added. He said this in response to a senator’s inquiry on Pakistan’s nuclear program’s security in the face of ongoing political turmoil and economic crisis.
“I have a fantastic relationship with Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir,” General Kurilla remarked. “I think the issues in Pakistan right now are their budget, their financial condition, the current political scenario, and the counterterrorism situation,” he said.
He also mentioned the resurgence of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), stating that attacks by the TTP have escalated dramatically after the end of a ceasefire with the illegal group.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
