Growth Strategy Based on Major Cuts in Pakistani Nuclear Budget

The deputy chairman Planning Commission of Pakistan, Dr Nadeem-ul-Haq was to delivered a  speech at the  National Defence University (NDU) about the new growth strategy for Pakistan which will at very least, involve major cuts Pakistani nuclear budget or completely abandon the Pakistani the nuclear program. His speech was canceled at the last moment.

This raises the question if the federal government of Pakistan, run by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was actually following the Memo agenda?

Earlier, former Foreign Minister Shah Qureshi has said, "Our nuclear weapons are in safe hands, but they are under threat from the policymakers."  He added that President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari offered to abandon the first strike option.

Under instructions from the federal government, Dr Nadeem-ul-Haq was to deliver his speech on Dec 26 about his research which concludes that only way Pakistan can achieve the sustainable economic growth and development is if Pakistan makes major cuts in it’s nuclear program and subsequently follow the South African example by dismantling the nuclear program altogether.

According to the Pakistani media giant "The Jang group", The deputy chairman Planning Commission of Pakistan, Dr Nadeem-ul-Haq has said,

“This lecture is cancelled. This lecture had nothing to do with the nuclear programme of Pakistan."

“You people have no interest in what I have to argue. You people don’t want development in this country. You people want to continue by taking the nuclear programme in your laps.”

“Mashallah, keep on sitting with this nuclear programme and simply forget about the development of the country. You people don’t need any progress.”

“It is so, it is so, he repeated, and all you journalists want it like that, and even Imran Khan spoke the same today. What is all this? Why does nobody want development?” 

When Dr Nadeem-ul-Haq was told that both sustainable economic growth and Pakistani nuclear program can go side by side and making assertions that Pakistani development is linked to the abandonment of Pakistani nuclear program, Dr Nadeem said,

 “No, it is so. You don’t want development. I declare it with my full assertion that it is so.”