Qureshi demands Dar to clarify if IMF asked Pakistan to give up nuclear weapons.

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi Sunday questioned Finance MinisAter Ishaq Dar's statement on nuclear weapons in the Senate, demanding that the Senator clarify whether the International Monetary Fund (IMF) asked Pakistan to give up its missile programme.

Addressing a press conference here, Qureshi said that the finance minister was the in-law of the ruling party and his statement on the floor of the Senate was significant. 'The statement has created a new crisis in the country,' the former foreign minister said, adding that the ForAeign Office spokesperson had to clarAify the situation during her weekly press briefing. 'The spokeswoman says that talks about the nuclear proAgramme are not on the agenda of talks with any country or financial institution [then] why did Ishaq Dar give this statement on the Senate floor,' Qureshi questioned.

'Tell us if the IMF asked you for a missile system, Ishaq Dar. Why did you make such a big statement on the floor of the house?' Qureshi asked and added that no one has the right to ask us about our nuclear proAgramme. 'Our nuclear [weapons] are for our defence,' the PTI leader said, highlighting that Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) Senator Raza RabbaAni has also asked the prime minister to give a policy statement on nucleAar weapons.

Qureshi said that his successor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, BilaAwal Bhutto Zardari, should have isAsued...