Non-productive nuclear?

This refers to the letter, ‘A different headline’ (August 31) by Madhiha Ather Hashmi. I find the word ‘non-productive’ in the letter inappropriate for all that has gone into the development of our nukes and the dire straits we have been facing since 1974 when India went nuclear. The west – and, in particular the US – may have double standards regarding our nuclear programme but one has to agree that Pakistan and India can be expected to behave irresponsibly when we view this problem with honesty and candour.
We are considered by many a nation as a pariah state, while the CIA has just made out that during Indira Gandhi’s time India wanted to bomb our nuclear installations. Deterrent or not, in a nuclear war Pakistan and India would both be losers. And true or not, now India is being touted as our only external threat.
Nasim Sadiq
Islamabad