War is no option

This refers to the article, ‘When will we say no to the arms race’ (May 19) by Imtiaz Alam. Wars are already out of fashion in the civilised parts of the world. A few months back, world leaders had a special session at the UN to eradicate poverty. That was a big joke. Narendra Modi came back from that conference and initiated a deal to purchase weapons worth billions of dollars. For him that was one way of eradicating poverty.

If the third world opts for peace, the defence industry in the West would collapse. Wars in the third world promote poverty and ignorance. Pakistan and India have enough stocks of nuclear weapons to exterminate each other. The consequences of a nuclear war would be too complex for the rulers to handle. The two countries have no choice other than peace. For this we need statesmen – not clever politicians who play on the irrational emotions of ignorant masses.

Brig (r) Usman Shah

Rawalpindi