ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office clarified on Sunday that no “deal” is being discussed between Pakistan and the United States.
According to earlier media reports, US has been weighing options to sign acivil nuclear deal with Pakistan.
“US has not made any demand from Pakistan. In any case, history is a testimony to the fact that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif accepts no demand from any state,” FO Spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said in a late night statement.
The FO spokesman said “the premier firmly believes in policies directed at preserving, protecting and promoting Pakistan’s national interests”.
Khalilullah was responding to a question regarding certain speculative comments and articles appearing in the media about a “civil nuclear deal” between Pakistan and US during the prime minister’s forthcoming visit to Washington.
“Many of them appear to be an attempt to confuse the audience and generate controversy, where there is none, on issues of national importance,” he added.
The FO spokesman reiterated that the prime minister will reach Washington on October 20 at the invitation of US President Barrack Obama, on an official visit.
The premier’s visit to the United States is aimed at further enhancing and strengthening relations between the two countries, he concluded.
Earlier, the US government spokesperson had told Dawn the United States “urges all nuclear-capable states, including Pakistan, to exercise restraint” regarding nuclear weapons and missile capabilities.
