The news of India and Pakistan going out for war has got fire after the abrogation of Article 370 which gave special status to the state of Jammu & Kashmir. On one hand, the world believes that Pakistan does not have a say in the matter and that abolition of Article 370 is India’s internal matter. Pakistan, on the other hand, cannot stop feeling the pain of poor Kashmiris and the injustice being done with them. (As being stated by Pakistan).

Pakistan has taken things so seriously that multiple ministers and army officials from Pakistan have insinuated about triggering a nuclear war on India on multiple occasions. The US, China, European Union and other world powers have urged restraint from the two nations as tensions escalate between the two nations on several grounds.

However, what would the circumstances be if a war began between the two nations? We can understand the severity of the situation by knowing about the military power, population and other such factors of the two nations. So here is a small comparison between the military power of the two nations.

  • The defence budget of Pakistan for the year 2019 is worth Rs. 1150 Crores. On the other hand, Indian Military has a budget of Rs. 3180 Crores.
  • As per the figures obtained in 2018, Indian Military is equipped with 140 nuclear warheads, whereas Pakistan has around 150 nuclear warheads.
  • Indian army has 12,40,000 army troops, 67,700 naval troops and 1,27,200 air troops. Pakistan, however, has only 5,60,000 army troops, 23,800 navy troops and 70,000 air troops.

If we talk about individual segments of the military:

Army:

  • Indian army has 3565 main battle tanks, 275 battle helicopters, 9719 artillery, 336 personnel carrier. More than 1.2 million army men are at service of the nation at all times. 
  • Pakistan, on the other hand, has only 2496 main battle tanks, 115battle helicopters, 4472 artillery, and 1605 personnel carrier. Apart from this, Pakistan has 375 self-propelled howitzers.

Navy:

  • Indian army has 1 aircraft carrier ship, 16 submarines, 14 destroyers, 13 frigates & 106 patrol/coastal combat vessels & 75 combat capable aircraft. Around 67700 personnel serve the Indian navy as marine and naval staff.
  • Pakistan, on the other hand, has only 8 submarines, 9 frigates & 17 patrol/coastal combat vessels. They do not have any aircraft carrier ship or destroyers. 
  • we come to naval forces, India is in a clear win-win situation.

Air Force:

  • Indian Air Force, the 4th biggest air force in the world has a fleet of 814 fighter/combat aircraft and 390 helicopters. However, fighter jets have a large concern because of the outdated model and technology. Apart from this, 1,27,200 personnel serve the nation as air force personnel. Also, Indian air force needs to be equipped with 42 squadrons of latest technology jets, and about 750 aircraft to be able to defend against a two-pronged attack from China and Pakistan simultaneously.
  • Pakistan Air force stands at 7th position in the world air force ranking with merely 425 fighter/combat aircraft & only 19 helicopters. It includes Chinese-origin F-7PG and American F-16 Fighting Falcon jets.

Missile and Nuclear Power:

– The Indian military has nine different types of operational missiles. Agni-3 is a missile having a range of 3,000km to 5,000km. 

– Pakistan, on the other hand, has been able to develop its missile program. With the help of Chinese assistance, Pakistan developed the missile power to include short- and medium-range mobile weapons. These missiles are expected to reach any part of India. The Shaheen-2 is Pakistan’s long-range missile which can go up to 2,000km of range.

Further, a small comparison of the missile power is listed in the below picture:

However, if we study closely, then at some points, India air crafts are a little outdated and are equipped with older technology. However, the Indian army has made some fresh deal which will help the country in the advancement of air forces.

Apart from this, the other dangers that India may face are that Pakistan is not the only allied nation that the country has to deal with. The other neighbour, China also poses a major threat to India. China has the 3rd largest military force in the world and can impact India in severe ways. Further, the ties between Pakistan and China are pretty well and they are already working together to help each other increase their dominance at the northern parts.

But India’s old friend Russia and Israel are yet another major military power in the world which can make death knock at the doors of China and Pakistan both. Apart from this, recently relationships with America have also improved over the years and things might turn out pretty in favour of India. Well if things go well. Also, India has improvised relationships with Afghanistan over the years to put Pakistan in trouble as it is one of the neighbours of Pakistan.

On one end, India has set up its air and military base in Afghanistan. On the other hand, China has also established its naval, air and military base in Pakistan.

Although India has a little outdated weaponry, it still holds a major dominance on the country. However, if we look at the bigger picture, the two countries are driven and dominated by various other forces such as American Government, Russia’s Soviet Union, United Nations, Gulf nations, European Unions and much more. These group of countries have been trying to de-escalate the chances of the two nations jumping into war. Hence, there are very little chances of warfare, but if a war breaks out, both the countries will receive collateral damage in terms of human resource, infrastructure, heritage, reputation and relations with other countries. Further, the governments of the two nations will not be the only stake-holder parties in this war and it will have a global impact.

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