Two historic rivals are at their closest to open conflict in years, after Indian jets carried out strikes on Pakistani territory on Tuesday. But how do the subcontinental powers stack up against each other?
Realizing its, probably insurmountable, disadvantages, Pakistan has poured much of its money into creating a nuclear deterrent. Both countries conducted their first official weapons tests in 1998, and according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Pakistan has built up an arsenal of 140-150 warheads, more than India's 130-140. India, however, enjoys superior delivery mechanism capacity, with its Agni-3 rockets capable of hitting targets 5,000km (3,107 miles) away. In contrast Pakistan's longest-range Shaheen 2 can strike 2,000km targets.
But even with these limitations, and taking into account the intercepting capacities of each nation, in the case of total war, each would be able to inflict millions of casualties on each other's densely populated cities within hours. Read More
