Qamar Bashir
The story of Pakistan and India’s strategic rivalry is as old as the two nations themselves. Since their creation in 1947, both countries have fought multiple wars, engaged in intense military standoffs, and maintained a constant state of strategic vigilance. While the battles on the field ended decades ago, the competition in defense, deterrence, and doctrine continues in full force. At the heart of this enduring standoff lies a surprising reality: despite being smaller in size, economy, and military resources, Pakistan has managed to establish a credible strategic balance with its much larger neighbor, India. This balance has not only deterred war but has stabilized the region in the shadow of recurring crises.
India, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion and an economy nearing $4 trillion, has clear quantitative advantages over Pakistan, whose population is around 250 million and economy hovers near $341 billion. On paper, India outmatches Pakistan in nearly every conventional military metric—from troop strength and defense budget to the volume of arms imports and defense-industrial capacity. However, Pakistan, through strategic ingenuity, tactical precision, and smart resource allocation, has achieved what military theorists term as a “kinetic strategic balance.”
To understand how such balance is achieved, especially between asymmetrical powers, one must examine the strategic balance formula developed and widely accepted among military analysts and defense planners. It is expressed as:
{Strategic Balance} = \frac{M_1}{M_2}
where “M” represents the overall military capability of each state, derived from multiplying five core factors:
M = F \Q \T \E \N
In this equation:
F stands for force size, which includes not only the number of active duty soldiers but also reserve personnel and paramilitary forces.
Q reflects the quality of weapons and equipment, taking into account technological sophistication, modernity, and battlefield effectiveness.
T represents the training and doctrinal maturity of the armed forces, their readiness, discipline, and capacity to execute strategies under pressure.
E signifies economic capacity—the ability of a country to sustain military operations over time, fund innovations, and manage logistics.
N measures nuclear capability, including the size, delivery mechanisms, and credibility of the nuclear deterrent.
Let’s apply this formula to India and Pakistan using approximate and normalized scales. India’s overall active military personnel number around 1.45 million, supplemented by an additional million in reserves and another million-plus in paramilitary units. Pakistan maintains roughly 654,000 active troops, 550,000 in reserve, and nearly half a million paramilitary personnel. On a scale of 1 to 10, India’s force size scores a 10 while Pakistan’s earns around 6.5.
In terms of weapon quality, India operates advanced systems such as Rafale fighter jets, S-400 air defense systems, and is building up a blue-water navy. Pakistan relies on a diversified mix of Chinese, American, and Turkish platforms, with domestic capabilities like the JF-17 fighter jet and Babur cruise missiles. India’s score on this scale would be around 8, with Pakistan close behind at 6.5.
Training and doctrine are where Pakistan edges closer to parity. Over decades of direct and indirect conflict, Pakistan’s military has evolved into a highly professional, strategically nimble force. It has effectively adopted doctrines of hybrid warfare, swift retaliation, and nuclear ambiguity. India’s larger forces sometimes suffer from organizational inertia, though efforts at modernization are ongoing. On this front, Pakistan may rate an 8, while India scores a 7.
Economically, the gap is stark. India’s economy is nearly ten times larger than Pakistan’s, and its defense budget—exceeding $83 billion—dwarfs Pakistan’s $9.6 billion allocation. This difference affects everything from procurement cycles to research and development capacity. On this scale, India scores a full 10, while Pakistan reasonably scores about 3.
Finally, the nuclear equation offers one of the most stabilizing forces in the strategic balance. India is believed to possess around 164 nuclear warheads with the capability to deliver them via air, land, and potentially sea. Pakistan holds an estimated 170 nuclear warheads and has developed tactical nuclear weapons like the Nasr missile system to deter India’s “Cold Start” doctrine. Both countries score roughly equal in nuclear capability at 8.5 each, though with different strategic philosophies—India embracing “No First Use” and Pakistan maintaining deliberate ambiguity.
When we multiply these normalized scores, India’s kinetic military capability index amounts to:
10.8.7.10.8.5 = 47,600
Pakistan’s equivalent score is:
6.5.6.5.8.3.8.5 = 9,004
The final ratio, therefore, is:
{47,600}/{9,004}=approx 5.3
This 5.3:1 balance heavily favors India in pure kinetic potential. Yet, military history and modern strategic thinking teach us that war is not determined by ratios alone. The question is not just whether one side can win—but whether it can win without unacceptable costs. And it is precisely here that Pakistan has succeeded in establishing deterrence. Its nuclear capability, doctrinal evolution, and war-readiness have made it abundantly clear that any full-scale Indian aggression would invite unbearable retaliation, regardless of conventional superiority.
The long peace since the 1971 war is a testament to this equilibrium. Even the 1999 Kargil conflict, initiated by Pakistani forces, remained limited in scope and quickly drew international mediation. Afterward, both countries adopted more robust postures: India developed doctrines for rapid retaliation, while Pakistan responded with battlefield nuclear readiness. The result has been a tense yet stable balance—volatile at the surface, but deeply anchored in mutual deterrence.
To illustrate this concept more clearly, we can compare it to the relationship between the United States and Canada. The U.S., with a defense budget over $850 billion and global power projection capabilities, is militarily incomparable to Canada, which spends under $30 billion and does not possess nuclear weapons. Yet, the two nations have enjoyed peaceful borders and extensive defense cooperation for over a century. Canada does not attempt to match U.S. military capabilities but instead relies on institutional trust, shared values, and alliance structures like NORAD and NATO. It has deterrence not through power parity, but through political and structural integration.
In contrast, Pakistan has no alliance structure with India, no institutional trust, and no history of mutual defense. It must therefore achieve balance through direct capability and posture—especially nuclear. And despite overwhelming asymmetry on paper, Pakistan’s strategic deterrence has worked. It has denied India the ability to impose its will militarily without facing existential risks in return.
In the final analysis, strategic balance is less about overpowering an adversary and more about rendering war unthinkable. Pakistan’s success in creating this balance—despite economic challenges and numerical inferiority—demonstrates that military deterrence is not reserved for the rich or powerful. It is a function of clarity, innovation, and above all, credibility. The kinetic balance formula, when correctly understood and applied, offers not just a measure of military might—but a blueprint for peace through proportional deterrence.
Qamar Bashir
Press Secretary to the President (Rtd)
Former Press Minister at Embassy of Pakistan to France
Former MD, SRBC
Macomb, Detroit, Michigan, USA
