The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has dismissed claims that the global lender had attached any conditions to the restart of a loan programme that had been stalled for months, despite the fact that the two parties had been in talks for weeks. Since early February, Pakistan has been hosting an IMF mission to negotiate the terms of the agreement, including the adoption of policy measures to manage the fiscal deficit ahead of the annual budget, which is due in June. The funds are part of a $6.5 billion bailout package approved by the IMF in 2019, which analysts believe is critical if Pakistan is to avoid defaulting on its external debt obligations. Senator Raza Rabbani and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi have raised concerns about the delay in the staff-level agreement with the Fund having anything to do with the country’s strategic assets, which include the nuclear and missile programmes. They have requested that the government be clear on this issue. Esther Perez Ruiz, the IMF’s resident representative in Islamabad, denied attaching any strings to the External Fund Facility in a statement released to the media on Sunday (EFF). “Regarding recent speculation that programme discussions with the authorities for the ninth review under the IMF-supported programme may have covered Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme, I want to be categoric that there is absolutely no truth to this or any insinuated link between the past or current IMF supported programme and decision by any Pakistani government over its nuclear programme,” the official said. The IMF chief further said that the discussions have exclusively focused on economic policies to solve Pakistan’s economic and balance of payments problems, in line with the Fund’s mandate for promoting macroeconomic and financial stability.