The Foreign Office on Friday 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.
Responding to a question at the briefing, the Foreign Office spokesperson said: “I would not like to comment on a debate that is taking place in the Parliament. Secondly, I have said earlier and I would like to reiterate that the issues that you have mentioned about Pakistan’s nuclear programme are not on the agenda with any government, any financial institution or any international organisation.”
“This debate is just speculative and I would not like to add to the speculation,” she added.
The spokesperson confirmed that Foreign Secretary Dr Asad Majeed Khan is currently in Beijing to lead the Pakistan delegation for the Bilateral Political Consultations with China. The Chinese side is led by Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong.
The two sides will have an in-depth exchange of views on the entire spectrum of bilateral ties and on important regional and global developments. Foreign Secretary will call on State Councillor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang, meet CIDCA Chairman, Lou Zhaouhui and engage with Chinese academia and think tanks.
She rejected the impression of any hiccup between Pakistan and China over the non-payment of dues to the Chinese Independent Power Producers.
“Pakistan and China are all-weather strategic cooperative partners. China is a consistent, generous and steadfast friend of Pakistan that has stood by Pakistan for the last several decades. China came and invested in Pakistan’s power sector under CPEC when no foreign investor was ready to invest in Pakistan.
