Pakistan ahead in nuclear arms, India in overall strength

The terrorist attack in Kashmir that killed 26 people has renewed hostilities between India and Pakistan, who have been arch rivals and had fought several wars since their partition in 1947, but they have been maintaining military power for long considering the geopolitical perspectives.

As many people fear India and Pakistan might engage militarily amid renews tension, thus, the military capabilities of both countries have come to limelight. Malaysia-based website Defence Security Asia published an analysis on the military capabilities of both countries, citing Global Firepower Index 2025.

India with a Power Index (PwrIndx) score of 0.1184 and Pakistan with a score of 0.251 ranked 4th and 12th respectively in the Global Firepower Index (GFP) 2025, which evaluates 145 nations based on over 60 factors including manpower, equipment, finances, geography, etc.

Lower PwrIndx scores indicate stronger militaries. India’s higher ranking reflects its larger population, bigger defense budget, and more extensive military assets. On the other hand, Pakistan, while formidable, faces constraints due to a smaller economy and reliance on foreign suppliers, particularly China, according to Defence Security Asia.

Manpower is a critical factor in conventional warfare, especially for India and Pakistan, given their large populations and reliance on ground forces.

India has 1.4 billion populations (second largest in the world), 662 million available manpower, 1.46 million active personnel (second globally), 1.16 million reserve personnel (seventh globally), 2.53 million paramilitary forces (second globally) and 5.1 million total military strength including active, reserve, and paramilitary.

Pakistan has 252 million population (fifth in the world globally), 108 million available manpower, 654,000 active personnel: (7th globally), 650,000 reserve personnel. The country’s paramilitary forces are not explicitly quantified in GFP but it has significant, including Rangers and Frontier Corps. Its total military strength including active, reserve, and paramilitary is 1.7 million.

India has over twice the active personnel and significantly larger reserve and paramilitary forces than Pakistan has, but Pakistan has a high proportion of its population dedicated to military service and leverages irregular forces like ‘Mujahids coordinated by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

India increased defense budget by 9.5 per cent to USD 79 billion in the 2025-26 fiscal, which is 2.1 per cent of the GDP. India becomes the third largest military spenders after the US and China.

Pakistan spends USD 10-12 billion in the 2025-26 fiscal, which is 3.6 per cent of the GDP. The country is not in the top tier because of economic challenges, but received USD $100 million in 2018 in foreign military assistance, primarily from the US and China.

India’s defense budget is approximately 6-8 times larger than Pakistan’s, enabling greater investment in advanced technology, infrastructure, and force modernisation while Pakistan faces budget constrains on maintaining a large standing army and nuclear arsenal, but Chinese support bolsters its capabilities.

Ground forces are central to India-Pakistan conflicts. Both countries share 3,323 km border and have a history of engaging in conventional wars in 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999.

India has 4,614 tanks (6th globally), 151,248 armoured vehicles and 9,719 artillery pieces. Its special forces include Para SF, Ghatak Force and MARCOS.

Pakistan has 3,742 tanks, about 50,000 armoured vehicles and 4,472 artillery pieces including 375 self-propelled howitzers. Its special forces include Special Services Group (SSG), SSG Navy, Special Service Wing, respected but smaller in scale.

India certainly has a numerical advantage in tanks, armoured vehicles, and artillery while Pakistan maintains a competitive tank fleet, with Chinese VT-4 tanks offering modern capabilities, and also possesses infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) with diverse platforms like the M113 and Al-Fahd.

Air superiority is critical in modern warfare, predominantly for rapid response and precision strikes.

India has a total of 2,229 aircraft, including 513-606 fighter jets. Its air force has fighter jets include Sukhoi Su-30MKI, Rafale, Tejas Mk1 (indigenous), MiG-29, Mirage 2000, as well as Apache AH-64E and Chinook helicopters. Its support aircraft operates 4 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) systems and Ilyushin Il-78 tankers. India’s air defense has S-400 systems (deliveries began 2020), enhancing long-range defense.

Pakistan has 1,399-1,434 aircraft, including 328-387 fighter jets, which include F-16 Fighting Falcon, JF-17 Thunder (Chinese) and Mirage III/V. The country has more attack helicopters than India, including AH-1F Cobras. Support aircraft consists of 7 AEW&C systems, outperforming India in ISR capabilities. Pakistan is upgrading F-16s with Turkish Roketsan missiles and trialling CZ Bren, FN-SCAR. Its air defense HQ-9 (Chinese) is less advanced than India’s S-400.

Analysis: India’s air force is larger and more diverse while Pakistan has a smaller air force but it is modernising, Pakistan has advantage in AEW&C systems bolsters situational awareness, but it lags in advanced air defence and overall fleet size.

Naval capabilities are vital for India’s maritime interests in the Indian Ocean and Pakistan’s Arabian Sea operations.

India has 67,700 navy personnel, 294 vessels, 2 aircraft carriers (INS Vikramaditya, INS Vikrant), 18 submarines, including nuclear-powered INS Arihant, 13 destroyers, 14 frigates, 106 patrol vessels and 75 combat-capable aircraft, including MiG-29K.

Pakistan has 23,800 navy personnel, 121 vessels, 8 submarines (Agosta-class, Chinese Yuan-class), 9 frigates, 17 patrol vessels: 17 and 8 combat-capable aircraft.

India’s navy is significantly larger and more capable, with aircraft carriers enabling power projection across the Indian Ocean. Pakistan’s smaller navy focuses on coastal defense and regional operations, with submarines posing a threat to Indian shipping lanes. The absence of carriers and limited naval aviation restricts Pakistan’s maritime reach.

Both India and Pakistan are nuclear-armed, shaping their deterrence strategies.

India has 130-140 warheads. Its delivery systems include Agni-III/V ballistic missiles (3,000-5,000 km range), Mirage 2000, Rafale for air delivery, INS Arihant for sea-based deterrence. India maintains No First Use (NFU) doctrine, with massive retaliation against nuclear attack.

Pakistan has 140-150 warheads, slightly more than India. Its delivery systems consist of Shaheen-II/III ballistic missiles, F-16s, Babur cruise missiles, naval platforms under development. The country follows a full-spectrum deterrence doctrine, including tactical nuclear weapons to counter India’s conventional superiority.

India maintains strong ties with Russia, France, Israel, and the US to enhance technology access and the country’s participation in exercises like RIMPAC improves interoperability while Pakistan has deep ties with China and limited US support (MNNA status) to bolster capabilities.

India focuses on conventional superiority and deterrence against both Pakistan and China. The “Cold Start” doctrine envisions rapid, limited incursions to punish Pakistan without triggering nuclear escalation. Pakistan emphasises asymmetric warfare and nuclear deterrence to counter India’s conventional edge.

India’s bureaucratic interference, slow acquisitions, and counterinsurgency focus have diluted conventional war readiness, while, for Pakistan, economic constraints limit fuel and equipment maintenance.

India’s broader strategic focus (China and Pakistan) stretches its resources but drives modernisation while Pakistan’s narrower focus on India allows efficient resource allocation, but economic woes and border clashes with regional tension Afghanistan weaken its posture.