Nuclear threat still hangs over India and Pakistan

https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/01/asia/india-pakistan-military-balance-intl/index.html

Recent events along the India and Pakistan border have made tensions high lately as both countries are nuclear powers. Pakistan shot down an Indian air force plane last week. Luckily, the pilot survived and Pakistan released him on Friday after initially capturing him. These countries were separated in 1947 and since then they have been rivals and fought many wars. Both countries have been building up their military, but India has been surpassing Pakistan lately. India has a military budget of $64 billion compared to Pakistan's $11 billion. However, India also has to worry about their border with China and they devote a lot of resources to that area. One important aspect of this issue is that China and Pakistan have a close military relationship and China largely supplies Pakistan's military. India's military technology is old and a lot of their spending goes towards maintenance. The plane that was shot down was a Soviet Era fighter jet. India wants to modernize, but they lack the industry to produce their own planes and tech. However, India has strength in numbers and a superior Navy. The big worry is their nuclear weapons. Both countries have roughly the same amount of nukes at around 150. This threat always looms especially when tensions rise. It also prevents major retaliation. The whole situation arose from a Pakistani terrorist attack in Kashmir, which killed 40 people. But how many terrorist attacks can India take before they are forced to retaliate?

-Devin Carrier