Pakistan is amongst the founding members of IAEA. The agency was set up as a global promoter and monitor for the peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology. Over the years, IAEA has helped its members states in applying nuclear sciences for the betterment of mankind and improving the lives of millions through reliable power generation, higher production of food, advanced healthcare techniques and much more.
PAEC is leading the application of nuclear science and technology in Pakistan. IAEA and PAEC have benefitted immensely from each other’s experiences. PAEC has also helped other IAEA member states in the fields of agriculture and biotechnology, medicine and nuclear education.
As a result of COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant socioeconomic pandemonium, PAEC has provided the country with all the means available to combat this disease. This effort to contain the spread of the disease was actively supported by IAEA through the provision of PCR machine, biohazard safety cabinets, test kits and related paraphernalia to help contain the pandemic through the use of nuclear derived techniques. 
The equipment was placed in PAEC General Hospital in Islamabad to extend the testing facilities not only to PAEC employees, but also to the general public at large. PAEC General Hospital in Islamabad was also configured in record time to handle and operate all aspects of pandemic control from testing and treatment to post-treatment follow-ups. Due to a combination of preventive measures, vast scale testing and treatment, the hospital played a pivotal role in the early detection and hence the curtailing of COVID-19 in Pakistan.

IAEA and PAEC also benefit from each other’s experience in the application of nuclear technology and techniques in the medical sphere. The most prominent among these collaborations is the fight against cancer. PAEC operates nineteen cancer hospitals around the country with another under construction in Muzaffarabad. Nuclear technologies and techniques, such as radiography and radiotherapy are essential for the detection and treatment of cancer patients. 

IAEA and PAEC also benefit from each other’s experience in the application of nuclear technology and techniques in the medical sphere. The most prominent among these collaborations is the fight against cancer. PAEC operates nineteen cancer hospitals around the country with another under construction in Muzaffarabad. Nuclear technologies and techniques, such as radiography and radiotherapy are essential for the detection and treatment of cancer patients. PAEC is also capable of training manpower in the application of nuclear technology for cancer control and treatment. 
The avenues of IAEA-PAEC cooperation are vast. Over the years, IAEA has helped PAEC in training its human resource in various different fields of nuclear science and technology. This, in turn, favors the other IAEA member states as Pakistan trains their personnel. In 2019, IAEA signed a cooperation agreement with Pakistan and designated PIEAS as a collaboration centre to support the member states on research, development and capacity building in the application of advanced and innovative nuclear technologies.
PAEC, through its four agriculture centres, namely the Nuclear Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Peshawar, Nuclear Institute of Agriculture (NIA) Tando Jam, National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE) Faisalabad and Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB) Faisalabad has not only been successful in developing 132 varieties of cash crops and pulses, but also in imparting trainings to scientists from other countries in an effort to ensure food and thus human security. These exchanges are arranged in coordination with IAEA in order to spread the experience and knowledge gained by the research and development work of these centres.
Further to the IAEA’s COVID-19 response, the Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action (ZODIAC) initiative was established in June 2020 to help countries in preventing pandemics caused by bacteria, parasites, fungi or viruses that originate in animals and can be transmitted to humans. Using a systematic and integrated approach, ZODIAC will strengthen the preparedness and capabilities of the member states to rapidly detect and timely respond to the outbreak of such diseases.

Both PAEC and IAEA are working together to create opportunities that ensure possibilities of applying nuclear technologies to human security through reliable, safe and carbon-free energy, food security through crops that are resistant to pests, climate changes and water management by using radiological sciences to detect and treat deadly diseases such as cancer. 

Under ZODIAC, veterinary and public health officials from the member states can benefit from the joint research and development activities, expert guidance, as well as from the technical, scientific and laboratory support of the IAEA and its partners. This includes access to coordinated joint research, training, know-how, expertise and technological packages to enhance pathogen surveillance and disease diagnostics, along with the prevention and response actions. Furthermore, it will provide access to scientific and diagnostic data and a decision-making support system that can enable authorities to take timely decisions based on scientific results. In line with IAEA’s ZODIAC initiative, PAEC has recently established a ZODIAC laboratory at NIAB, Faisalabad. 
The partnership between IAEA and PAEC is not just confined to technical issues, but rather extends to undertaking various political and administrative steps to ensure safety, security and efficient use of nuclear technology. These include several steps such as placing all of Pakistan’s civil nuclear reactors under the stringent IAEA safeguards.
Both PAEC and IAEA are working together to create opportunities that ensure possibilities of applying nuclear technologies to human security through reliable, safe and carbon-free energy, food security through crops that are resistant to pests, climate changes and water management by using radiological sciences to detect and treat deadly diseases such as cancer. All these efforts combined would ensure peace, progress and prosperity not only for Pakistan, but also for other member states of IAEA in particular, and the humanity in general.

The writer is a graduate from Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.