A day after India’s Zee News ran a report showing a meeting between International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General (DG) Rafael Mariano Grossi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan dismissed the reports about the visit by a high-level IAEA delegation to the country as “fake news”.
The video clip taken from the Zee News report was shared widely on social media, mostly by Pakistani users, on Thursday, questioning whether the government had signed a deal to hand over Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.
Exiled Pakistani journalist and news anchor Moeed Pirzada questioned the military’s public relations wing about the agenda of the alleged visit and why it was not being reported in the media.
The Zee News report claimed that Pakistan has struck a deal with IA EA to hand over its nuclear weapons. The report making rounds on social media also showed a picture of IAEA DG Grossi shaking hands with PM Shehbaz.
Reacting to the Zee News report, spokesperson for Pakistan’s Foreign Office Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said, “Any stories regarding the visit of a high-level IAEA delegation to Pakistan are fake news. No official from IA EA 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.”