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Saturday April 27, 2024

No IAEA official visiting Pakistan: FO

FO spokesperson did not mention who was running fake news about ‘deal’ over Pakistan’s nuclear assets

By Mariana Baabar
March 16, 2024
Pakistans Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Islamabad. — Radio Pakistan/File
Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Islamabad. — Radio Pakistan/File

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Friday outrightly rejected and rubbished reports doing the rounds that there was a high-level delegation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visiting Pakistan.

The spokesperson at the Foreign Office did not mention who was running fake news for the past few days about an alleged ‘deal’ over Pakistan’s nuclear assets.

“Any stories regarding the visit of a high-level IAEA delegation to Pakistan are fake news. No official from IAEA is currently visiting Pakistan, nor are any policy talks planned in the near future with IAEA. Director General IAEA visited Pakistan in February 2023. This ministry had issued briefings to the media on the occasion,” she clarified.

The spokesperson in her clarification pointed to the February 2023 two-day visit by the IAEA DG to Pakistan, where the Foreign Office had briefed the media where amongst other issues both sides agreed to increase collaboration in peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology, particularly in agriculture and medicine, to the benefit of the country and its neighbours.