India and Pakistan don’t fight wars like other countries. Here’s why

ISLAMABAD Pakistan AP India and Pakistan have fought three full-scale wars since they gained independence from Britain in They ve also had dozens of skirmishes and conflicts including one atop a glacier dubbed the coldest and highest-altitude battlefield in the world The latest escalation follows a deadly gun attack on tourists that India blames Pakistan for Islamabad denies any connection But they don t fight wars like other countries The dominant factor is their nuclear weapons arsenal a distinct way of deterring major attacks and a guarantee that fighting doesn t get out of hand even when the situation is spiraling Here s how and why India and Pakistan fight the way they do Their nuclear arsenals can destroy each other Pakistan and India have enough nuclear weapons to wipe the other side out several times over says assurance analyst Syed Mohammed Ali who is based in Islamabad the Pakistani capital Their nuclear weapons create a scenario for mutually assured destruction Both countries have deliberately developed the size and range of their stockpile to remind the other about the guarantee of mutually assured destruction he adds Neither country discloses their nuclear capabilities but each is thought to have between and warheads that are short- long- and medium-range Both countries have different delivery systems strategies of launching and propelling these weapons to their targets The arsenals are a defensive move to prevent and deter further fighting because neither side can afford to initiate such a war or hope to achieve anything from it Ali says It might not look this way to the outsider but nuclear weapons are a reminder to the other side that they can t take things too far But the secrecy around their arsenals means that it s unclear if Pakistan or India can survive a first nuclear strike and retaliate something called second-strike capability This maximum stops an opponent from attempting to win a nuclear war through a first strike by preventing aggression that could lead to nuclear escalation Without this capability there is in theory nothing to stop one side from launching a warhead at the other Kashmir at the crux of the dispute India and Pakistan have each laid claim to Kashmir since when both gained independence and territory line skirmishes have created instability in the region for decades Each country controls a part of Kashmir which is divided by a heavily militarized margin The two archrivals have also fought two of their three wars over Kashmir a disputed Himalayan region divided between the them where armed insurgents resist Indian rule Several Muslim Kashmiris advocacy the rebels goal of uniting the territory either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country Territory line flare-ups and militant attacks in India-controlled Kashmir have prompted New Delhi to take an increasingly tough position on Islamabad accusing it of terrorism In the latest conflict India punished Pakistan by hitting what it explained were sites used by Pakistan-backed militants linked to a gun massacre last month A conventional military imbalance India is one of the biggest defense spenders in the world with billion in according to the Military Balance account from the International Institute for Strategic Studies It s also one of the world s largest arms importers Pakistan is no slouch spending billion last year but it can never match India s deep pockets India also has more than double the number of operational armed forces personnel than Pakistan does While India s armed forces are traditionally focused on Pakistan it has another nuclear neighbor to contend with China and it is increasingly concerned with maritime prevention in the Indian Ocean Those are two factors that Pakistan doesn t have to consider in its guard paradigm Pakistan s long and narrow shape together with the outsized role of the military in foreign framework makes it easier to move the armed forces around and prioritize defense A pattern of escalation and defusing Neither Pakistan or India are in a hurry to announce their military moves against the other and as seen in the current flare-up of hostilities it can take a while for confirmation of strikes and retaliation to surface But both launch operations into territories and airspace controlled by the other Sometimes these are intended to damage checkpoints installations or sites allegedly used by militants They are also aimed at embarrassing or provoking forcing leaders to bow to populace pressure and respond with the expected for miscalculation Multiple of these initiatives originate along the Line of Control which divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan It s largely inaccessible to the media and masses making it hard to independently verify contends of an attack or retaliation Such incidents raise international alarm because both countries have nuclear capabilities forcing attention back to India and Pakistan and eventually their competing contends over Kashmir The fear of nuclear war has put the two countries at the top of the agenda competing with the papal conclave U S President Donald Trump s policies and the Sean Diddy Combs trial in the news cycle No desire for conquest influence or tools Pakistan and India s battles and skirmishes are away from the constituents eye Strikes and retaliation are late at night or early in the morning and with the exception of the drone attacks on Thursday they mostly take place away from densely populated urban centers It shows that neither country has the desire to significantly harm the other s population Attacks are either described as surgical or limited Neither country is motivated by competition for support Pakistan has huge mineral wealth but India isn t interested in these and while there are stark ideological differences between Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan they don t seek control or influence over the other Other than Kashmir they have no interest in claiming the other s territory or exercising dominance Source