Pakistan escalated its conflict with Afghanistan this week by launching a major airstrike on a drug rehab centre in Kabul, which reportedly killed dozens of people as cross-border clashes between the neighbours entered its third week.
The bombing left 143 dead and scores wounded, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama). Afghan interior ministry spokesperson, Abdul Mateen Quanie, however said 408 people were killed, with 265 injured at the 2,000-bed drug rehabilitation centre.
Pakistan denied claims that it struck the hospital and said its target was miles away from the rehabilitation centre. The Pakistani information ministry said it had attacked a “military terrorist ammunition and equipment storage site”, which it identified as Camp Phoenix. Residents, however, said that Camp Phoenix was an abandoned Nato military base in the city that was turned into a drug treatment centre about a decade ago. Locals referred to it as Omid Camp, or “camp of hope”, although its official name was the Ibn Sina Drug Addiction Treatment Hospital.
This is the most dramatic escalation in the conflict between the two south Asian neighbours who have been fighting since February end, the same time US and Israel launched a war on Iranian regime in Tehran.
Earlier, Pakistan hit out at multiple locations in Afghanistan and said the country was now in an “open war” with its neighbour. Experts have pointed out that while both nations have military capacity, Afghanistan falls behind due to its lack of air superiority and war-battered economy.
As tensions persist, here is a look at how Pakistan dwarfs Afghanistan's military forces and arsenals, according to data from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Overview
Pakistan's armed forces benefit from good recruitment and retention, bolstered by equipment from its main defence partner China. Islamabad continues to invest in its military nuclear programmes and is also modernising its navy and air force.
The capability of the Afghan Taliban's armed forces, meanwhile, is declining, with a fall in their ability to use foreign equipment that the Islamist group seized when it returned to power in the landlocked country in 2021.
A lack of international recognition for the Taliban administration has also hurt military modernisation.
Personnel
Pakistan has 660,000 active personnel in its defence forces, of whom 560,000 are in the army, 70,000 are in the air force, and 30,000 are in the navy.
The strength of the Afghan Taliban's military is thinner, with only 172,000 active personnel. The group has, however, announced plans to expand its armed forces to 200,000 personnel.
Fighting vehicles and artillery
Pakistan has more than 6,000 armoured fighting vehicles, and over 4,600 pieces of artillery.
The Afghan forces also possess armoured fighting vehicles, including Soviet-era main battle tanks, armoured personnel carriers and autonomous underwater vehicles, but their exact number is unknown.
The precise number of artillery they possess, which is of at least three different types, is similarly not known.
Air Force
Pakistan has a fleet of 465 combat aircraft and more than 260 helicopters that include multi-role, attack and transport choppers.
Afghanistan has no fighter jets and no real air force to speak of. It is known to possess at least six aircraft - some of them dating back again to the Soviet era - and 23 helicopters, although it is not possible to assess how many are in flying condition.
Nuclear arsenal
While Pakistan is a nuclear-armed country and has 170 warheads, Afghanistan does not have a nuclear arsenal.
