WORLD CANNOT STAY IDLE

AS NUCLEAR-ARMED INDIA AND PAKISTAN ARE DRAWN TO WAR

- By Ameen Izzadeen

The world cannot remain silent when two nuclear powers—India and Pakistanare gearing up for war. Such a conflict is in the interest of neither the two countries nor the rest of the world.

A nuclear war, in which there are no winners but only losers, will precipitate a disaster of apocalyptic proportions with devastating consequences for decades to come, not only for the two countries but for the surrounding region and even the entire world.

The atomic bombs the United States dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki pale into insignificance when compared to the destructive power of the modern nuclear weapons. The atomic bomb attacks on the two Japanese cities in August 1945 instantly killed nearly 300,000 people. The blasts generated temperatures of 3,000-4,000 degrees Celsius, vapourising people in and around ground zero. Survivors suffered from radiation sickness and faced long-term health issues, including cancer and genetic mutations.

The Hiroshima atomic bomb, nicknamed “Little Boy”, had a yield of 16 kilotons, but a strategic nuclear bomb has a yield range of 100 kilotons to 1.2 megatons (1200 kilotons) and beyond. In other words, a nuclear bomb with a yield of 1.2 megatons has 75 times more destructive power than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

In an India-Pakistan nuclear war, tens of millions will die instantly if the targets are heavily populated cities, such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Karachi, and Lahore. Tens of millions will be wounded and suffer from burn injuries and radiation sickness. In such a war, help won't come rushing in for fear of radiation. Besides, the infrastructure, including hospital buildings, will be in total collapse; vehicles, including ambulances, will have been reduced to burning wrecks.