Re: Pakistan test-fires new nuclear-capable missile
That’s exaggeration. Hiroshima and Nagaski were safely inhabitable shortly after their bombing. Only a nuclear explosion close to ground level could possible cause long-term radiation poisoning at a location.
And ground level bombing is not desireable because it is less destructive - half the detonation is directed straight into the ground, most of the remainder into the air, and only a bit off to the sides.
To maximise the amount of a city that is destroyed, and to ensure optimal fatalities, you need to detonate the bomb high up in the air as was done at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This ensures that half the explosive power is turned into a semi spherical blast wave that spreads all around.
Such as air burst would also direact the most intense radiation into the air, which would disperse and minimise the amount of ground-level radiation, as well as minimising radioactive fallout.