Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Ishaq Dar on Monday clarified his statement given on March 16 on the floor of the Senate with regard to the reasons behind delay in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, saying it was being quoted out of context. “My comments with regards to Pakistan’s nuclear programme was in response to a colleague senator’s specific question, wherein, I emphasized that Pakistan has sovereign right to develop its nuclear programme, as it best suits our national interests, without any external dictation, which, by no means should in any way whatsoever be linked with the ongoing negotiations with the IMF,” he said in a statement. The minister clarified that neither the IMF nor any country had attached any conditionality or made any demand from Pakistan with regard to “our nuclear capability and the delay in IMF staff level agreement is purely due to technical reasons, for which we are continuously engaged with the IMF in order to conclude it at the earliest.”