Those Pakistanis who think there is cause to celebrate may pause to think.
ISLAMABAD: This is with reference to your news report of February 1 titled “Pakistan edges past India”. The veracity of this news is uncertain as your report is based on a story in The Washington Post, which is itself based on US and UK ‘expert’ assessments.
Those Pakistanis who think there is cause to celebrate may pause to think. How does such a large stockpile help the Pakistani people? These weapons come at a cost and consume resources that could easily go towards meeting the widening gap between demand and supply of education, and health, and for improving the living conditions of ordinary Pakistanis.
The large stockpile of nuclear weapons — the exact number is not important as a smaller cache may also allow deterrence — helps us pursue whimsical policies.
Those who think that these weapons guarantee our national security, may wish to consider how many Pakistani lives have been lost in recent years while these weapons have been lying in silos.
Abdul Khaliq
Published in The Express Tribune, February 2nd, 2011.
