Islamabad, Pakistan (AP) – India and Pakistan have fought three total wars since gaining independence from British India in 1947. They also encountered dozens of small-scale conflicts and conflicts, including one on one on one on one on the coldest, highest, highest altitude battlefield on one on the glacier.
The latest escalation is after India blames Pakistan for its deadly gun attack, Islamabad has denied any contact. But they won't fight like other countries.
The main factor is their nuclear arsenal, which is a unique way to stop a major attack and ensure that even if the situation is spiraling, the battle will not get out of control.
Here is the way Pakistan does it with them:
Their nuclear arsenals can destroy each other
“Pakistan and India have enough nuclear weapons to wipe the other side off a few times,” said security analyst Syed Mohammed Ali. “Their nuclear weapons create a situation of mutually assured destruction.”
He added that both countries “deliberately developed” the scale and scope of inventory to remind each other of the reciprocity guarantees of damage.
Neither of these countries disclosed their nuclear capabilities, but it is believed that each has between 170 and 180 warheads, which are short, long and medium-range. Both countries have different delivery systems – ways to push these weapons toward their targets.
“The arsenal is a defensive action to prevent and deter further combat, because “neither side can afford this war or hope to achieve any goal from it.” ”
It may not be seen to outsiders, but nuclear weapons remind the other side that they cannot go too far.
However, the confidentiality surrounding the arsenal means it is unclear whether Pakistan or India can survive the first nuclear strike and retaliation, known as the “second strike capability”.
This ability prevents opponents from trying to win a nuclear war through the first strike, thus preventing aggression from potentially causing nuclear escalation.
Without this ability, in theory, nothing can stop one side from firing a warhead to the other.
Kashmir is at the critical point of dispute
Since 1947, India and Pakistan have claimed to Kashmir that both sides were independent at that time, and border skirmishes have caused decades of instability in the region. Each country controls a part of Kashmir, which is divided by militarized borders.
The two commemorators also fought three wars with Kashmir, with armed insurgents resisting Indian rule. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory under the leadership of Pakistani governance or independent states.
The outbreak of the border and armed attacks in India-controlled Kashmir have prompted New Delhi to take an increasingly difficult position in Islamabad, accusing it of “terrorism.”
In the latest conflict, what India has said is the site associated with the shooting death of the Holocaust by hitting Pakistan.
Conventional military imbalance
India is one of the world's largest defense spenders, with a $74.4 billion in 2025, according to the Military Balance Report of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. It is also one of the largest arms importers in the world.
That's not the case in Pakistan, which spent $10 billion last year, but it can never match India's deep pockets. India has more than twice as many active armed forces personnel than Pakistan.
Although India's armed forces have traditionally focused on Pakistan, it has another nuclear neighbor that can compete with China and is increasingly concerned about maritime security in the Indian Ocean. These are two factors that Pakistan does not have to consider in its security paradigm.
Pakistan's long and narrow shape, and the outstanding role of military in foreign policy, have moved around the armed forces and given priority to defense.
Upgrade and deformation modes
Neither Pakistan nor India are in a hurry to announce their military operations against another, and it can be seen in the current outbreak of hostilities that it may take some time to confirm the strike and retaliate.
However, both actions initiate territory and airspace controlled by the other side. Sometimes these are designed to damage the checkpoints, installations or locations that militants allegedly use.
They are also designed to be embarrassing or provocative – forcing leaders to succumb to public pressure and react, and potentially miscalculate.
Many of these activities stem from the Line of Control, which divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan. The media and the public are largely inaccessible, so it is difficult to independently verify claims of attacks or retaliation.
Such incidents have raised international alerts as both countries have nuclear capabilities, forcing people to pay attention to India and Pakistan and ultimately put forward a competitive claim against Kashmir.
Fear of nuclear war makes both countries a priority on the agenda, with the Pope Conference, the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump and the Sean “Didy” comb trial in the news cycle.
Don't want to conquer, influence or resources
Battles and skirmishes between Pakistan and India are far away from the public's eyes.
Strikes and retaliation were conducted late at night or early in the morning, with the exception of Thursday’s drone attacks, mainly from densely populated urban centers. It shows that neither of these countries wants to significantly harm each other's population. Attacks are either described as surgery or limited attacks.
Neither country is motivated by resource competition. Pakistan has huge mineral wealth, but India is not interested in these wealth, and despite the obvious ideological differences between the Indian majority India and the Pakistani Muslim majority, they do not seek control or influence the other party’s control or influence.
Except for Kashmir, they have no interest in claiming the other's territory or exercising dominance.
