The national media heralded the other day that Pakistan has successfully launched the surface-to-surface Hataf-VI Shaheen ballistic missile. It is no doubt good news as it is another achievement on the part of our nuclear scientists. Since the last decade, the Pakistani people are being enthralled, from time to time, with news of missile launches. Though initially, the nation really used to be delighted with such achievements and rejoiced a lot but lately, the news are not received with great deal of enthusiasm by the common masses. Probably the nation now feels that such achievements in the field of nuclear missiles are irrelevant to their basic problems. Majority of Pakistanis wish today that their government should instead launch a program that uses the nuclear technology to help minimize their immediate and basic problems like the electricity crisis, shortage of food, illiteracy, unemployment, etc, etc. The nation wonders why the government does not launch such projects that can lead to alleviation of poverty or help improve industry or agriculture. After all, the nuclear power can be utilized for developmental fields too along with defence. -ANWAR JALAL, Peshawar, via e-mail, April 22.