India vs Pakistan: Which military would win a war? Here’s comparison

India on Tuesday conducted a strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in the wee hours, killing a ‘very large number’ of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders, Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said. He said the "intelligence-led operation" on the Pakistan-based terror group's biggest training camp in Balakot became "absolutely necessary" as it was planning more suicide attacks in India. JeM claimed responsibility for the February 14 Pulwama attack on a CRPF convoy in which 40 soldiers were killed.

Reacting to the development, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that Islamabad holds the right to self-defence and a befitting response. “We kept on telling the world that this could happen… they carried out aggression against Pakistan today. India violated the LoC . Pakistan holds the right to self-defence and a befitting response,” Qureshi told media, after chairing an emergency consultative meeting at the Foreign Office.

The meeting at the Foreign Office was attended by former foreign secretaries and senior diplomats, and held consultations over the prevailing situation. 

More than 10 bombs were dropped by the multi-role fighter jet Mirage 2000 at around 3:30 am. "Clouds of danger are lingering over Pakistan and we can see aggression," Shah Mehmood Qureshi said. "An aggressive segment is bent on risking regional peace for its political gains," he added. "Indian leadership has become flustered in trying to achieve its political gains," Geo News quoted Qureshi as saying. 

India vs Pakistan: Which military would win a war?

India’s military is placed fourth on a global index that has ranked 136 countries on the basis of their global military prowess, trailing behind only the US, Russia and China in that order. India’s western neighbour Pakistan ranks 17 on the Global Firepower (GFP) list 2018.

INDIA

Manpower

Total military personnel: 4,207,250 

Active personnel: 1,362,500

Reserve personnel: 2,844,750

Airpower

Total aircraft strength: 2,185

Fighters: 590

Attack: 804

Transports: 708

Trainers: 251

Total helicopter strength: 720

Attack helicopters: 15

Land power

Combat tanks: 4,426

Armed fighting vehicles: 3,147

Self-propelled artillery:  190

Towed artillery: 4,158

Rocket projectors: 266

Naval strength

Total Naval assets: 295

Aircraft carriers: 1        

Frigates: 14

Destroyers: 11

Corvettes: 22

Submarines: 16

Patrol vessels: 139

Mine warfare: 4

PAKISTAN

Manpower

Total Military Personnel: 9,19,000 

Active personnel: 6,37,000

Reserve personnel: 2,82,000

Airpower

Total aircraft strength: 1,281

Fighters: 320

Attack: 410

Transports: 296

Trainers: 486

Total helicopter strength: 328

Attack helicopters: 49

Land power

Combat tanks: 2,182

Armed fighting vehicles: 2,604

Self-propelled artillery:  307

Towed artillery: 1,240

Rocket projectors: 144

Naval strength

Total Naval assets: 197

Aircraft carriers: 0        

Frigates: 10

Destroyers: 0

Corvettes: 0

Submarines: 5

Patrol vessels: 11

Mine warfare: 3

(Data source: GFP list 2018)