ISLAMABAD, Sept 3: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has mandated Pakistan to extensively use nuclear energy for civilian purposes in agriculture, industrial, health, education and environment sectors.
Sources told Dawn on Saturday that the IAEA had decided to offer substantial funding for 24 research projects, findings of which would be shared with other Asian countries.
However, the IAEA said that all the nuclear energy-related projects must be opened for monitoring by its officials to ensure that everything was done for civilian use and not for manufacturing nuclear weapons, the sources said.
They said Pakistan had become the “highest recipient of IAEA’s financial and technical assistance” and that the relevant international agencies and Islamabad’s bilateral supporters had been taken into confidence about the application of nuclear energy for civilian purposes.
They said the IAEA had allowed the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission to amply use nuclear energy for improving the performance of agriculture, industrial, health, education and environment sectors.
“The PAEC is now providing nuclear technology for civilian purposes, which used to be taboo till recently,” the sources said, adding that Pakistani authorities were fully cooperating with the IAEA on all nuclear and non-nuclear issues.
They said the PAEC-supported civilian organizations were ready for inspection by everybody, including the IAEA.
The sources said all the PAEC laboratories, including the Pakistan Institute of Science and Technology, had started providing extensive services to civilian organizations after the IAEA’s approval.
They said IAEA officials admitted that a number of sanctions imposed by the United States and the West in the past on Pakistan’s civilian nuclear projects were unjustified, for which the country should be compensated by allowing it to use nuclear technology in manufacturing, industry etc.
“We have been informed by the IAEA authorities that they are ready to provide training to Pakistani manpower for improving its skills relating to nuclear energy,” another source said.
He said that the government had provided Rs178 million for reclaiming 25,000 acres of salinity-hit and waterlogged land by using nuclear technology.
He said a laser land leveller had been manufactured with the help of the PAEC, which, if imported, could have cost a large amount in foreign exchange. He said a number of initiatives were being taken in the industrial, environmental, health and education sectors to use nuclear technology. For promoting industrial activities, he said, a ‘non-destructive unit’ had been set up, which would work under World Trade Organization regulations. This would also help improve the quality of industrial products for increasing exports, the source said.
