Speaking at the National Cadet Corps Rally in Delhi on Tuesday, Modi lamented “inaction” of his predecessors, reluctant to use military force against Pakistan. He argued that even when Indian top brass “asked for action,” political leadership “would not go ahead,” but instead see what he called “a proxy war” with Pakistan as a law and order issue, rather than one requiring a military solution. The PM said that he believes Pakistan does not stand a chance in case of a military confrontation between the two.

“The Indian armed forces won’t take more than a week-10 days to make Pakistan bite dust”

The two regional archrivals fought three major wars and were involved in numerous smaller skirmishes, most of them over disputed Kashmir region, since both gained independence from Britain.

While India’s conventional military might is no match to the Pakistani one, with India's 1.2 million army vastly outnumbering Islamabad’s 560,000 troops, Pakistan levels the playing field with its sizable arsenal of nukes. According to the estimates by The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Pakistan owns some 140-150 warheads, while India may boast “only” around 130-140. Although India’s delivery mechanism is much more enhanced, that won’t matter much in case of an all-out war breaking out between the two as a single strike may inflict mass casualties and result in devastating consequences for the whole region.

The closest India and Pakistan came to the brink of war in the recent years was in February last year, after India launched airstrikes on the Pakistani-controlled part of Kashmir after a Pakistan-based militant group killed dozens of Indian police on the disputed territory. While New Delhi claimed it was targeting terrorist hideouts, Islamabad denied allegations it was harboring militants and carried out retaliatory shelling. The standoff culminated with a series of aerial dogfights that saw an Indian pilot being captured by Pakistan. Although the two countries refrained from deploying their nukes, a much feared scenario by many, there were reports at the time that they were a hair’s breadth away from considering the option in earnest.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!