WAR is indeed a costly and serious affair.
However, the current war-mongering situation between India and Pakistan has made everyone wonder whether India is in some Bollywood mood.
Even Pakistanis love Bollywood dances, but the current Indian media circus is beyond acceptability.
It’s time to reflect on what both India and Pakistan are capable of and what is happening on the ground.
The Indian population and area are much larger than Pakistan.
India’s defence budget is USD 86 billion, which is eight times more than that of Pakistan.
Indian forces count fourteen hundred seventy-five thousand active personnel, which is double than that of Pakistan – Pakistan’s active forces are six hundred sixty thousand only.
Out of the total active forces, the Indian army comprises twelve hundred thousand, while Pakistan’s army has five hundred sixty thousand.
The Indian Air Force has one hundred fifty thousand, while the Pakistan Air Force has around seventy thousand.
Indian Navy forces exceed seventy-five thousand, while the Pakistan Navy has around thirty thousand.
Despite these numbers, they have had four wars since 1947.
Let us get deeper into their military might.
Both countries possess almost equal nuclear warheads, around 172/170.
India has 480 aircraft, while Pakistan has 300.
The Indian Navy has 210 vessels, while Pakistan has 44.
The Bloomberg report suggests that India has approached America and France for the weapons market and has become the biggest importer of weapons in the world.
India’s reliance on the Russian weapon market from 2009 to 2013 was 76%, which has dropped to 36% from 2019 to 2023.
Now, India is trying to make its weapons high-tech like those of other Western countries.
Pakistan is not behind in the weapons race.
Pakistan buys most of its weapons from China.
From 2019 to 2023, Pakistan’s weapons imports increased by 82%, compared to 51% between 2009 and 2012.
According to the report, two Pakistani air force nuclear-capable jets, the F-16 (USA) and JF Thunder (China), are super important.
JF Thunder is lightweight and has the potential to operate in day/night and any weather.
In the Indian Air Force, the French-made Rafale jet has the potential to carry nuclear missiles with a 150 km range, while its air-to-air and air-to-land capabilities reach only 300 km.
Pakistan has 2,672 tanks, while India has 4,201 tanks.
India has 3,147 armoured vehicles, while Pakistan has 2,604.
In terms of self-propelled and automatic artillery cannons, Pakistan is ahead of India.
India has 100, while Pakistan has 662 cannons.
In Multi-Barrel Rocket Launchers, Pakistan leads with 600, while India has 264.
India has dual aircraft carriers, INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant.
In the Indian naval fleet, there are 18 submarines, of which 3 are nuclear-powered.
Pakistan has 8 submarines—3 of which are Agosta 90B class, 2 are Agosta 70 class, and 3 are Cosmos class submarines.
With the help of China, Pakistan is preparing 8 Hangor-class submarines.
Out of these, four are being constructed by China and the remaining four are being built in Pakistan.
This is part of a larger agreement that includes technology transfer from China to Pakistan.
Pakistan’s missile program is based on cruise and tactical ballistic missiles.
In tactical ballistic missiles, Pakistan includes the Hatf series and Nasr, which have a firing range of 60-100 km.
The short-range missiles include Abdali with a 200-450 km surface-to-surface range, Gaznavi with 300 km, Ra’ad with 350 km, Babur with 700 km and Shaheen I with a range of 750-1,000 km.
The medium-range missiles include Ghauri I and II, Ababeel, Shaheen II, and Shaheen III.
Among these, Ghauri I has a target range of 1,500 km, while Ghauri II has 2,000 km, and Ababeel has a target range of 2,200 km.
Shaheen II and III have the highest target range of 2,500-2,750 km.
Ababeel and Shaheen III are medium-range ballistic missiles designed to carry multiple nuclear warheads, aiming to defeat the enemy’s ballistic defence shield capability and render it ineffective.
Pakistan’s ballistic missile-capable weapons are the best missiles due to their highest range, target capability and nuclear weapon carrier potential.
They can achieve multiple targets in one shot.
India’s missile program is based on 250-600 km Prithvi missiles to 1200-8000 km Agni series, Narbha, and BrahMos cruise missile series.
Dhanush is a Prithvi (tactical surface-to-surface short-range ballistic missile, third variant with Prithvi I, II and Prithvi Air Defence Interceptor).
This missile can carry nuclear weapons.
India’s K-15 (Sagarika) is a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) developed by the Indian Navy, while “B5” likely refers to the BrahMos missile, a supersonic cruise missile with a range of 700 km.
India and Pakistan are working on improving their drone capabilities.
They are not only buying drones from other countries but are also capable of preparing pilotless drones for espionage, targeting and surveillance purposes.
For military purposes, flying at high altitudes and longer ranges without being detected on radar, along with this, these drones can achieve specific targets.
If India is recogniszed as a strategic partner of the USA, Pakistan is often referred to as China’s “Iron Brother.
” This dynamic underscores the geopolitical significance of both countries.
Pakistani media tends to operate with more maturity than Indian media, which is often criticised for sensationalism, propaganda and the spread of fake news.
India has developed a reputation for allegedly orchestrating terrorist acts worldwide, from the Nijjar murder case plot to sponsoring BLA and militancy in Pakistan.
In contrast, Pakistan appears less focused on creating misinformation campaigns like the EU Disinfo-Lab, which seeks to manipulate narratives and utilise deceased individuals to promote the RSS agenda in other countries.
India needs to understand that, in global and regional politics, attitude and military capability together play a significant role.
Currently, India seems somewhat lost in its geopolitical approach, akin to a newly wealthy person unsure of how to communicate their newfound status to the world.
—The writer is Assistant Professor at Dept of Government and Public Policy, NUST, Islamabad.(farahnaz@s3h.nust.edu.pk)
