ISLAMABAD, July 17 (Reuters) – Pakistan has been negotiating an expanded defence pact with Kuwait in exchange for energy cooperation and investment, according to five sources with knowledge of the talks.
Several other Gulf nations have also reached out to Pakistan with requests after Islamabad signed a mutual defence agreement with Saudi Arabia last year.
Here is a look at the defence forces and arsenals of nuclear-armed Pakistan, according to data from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
PERSONNEL
Pakistan has the fourth-largest military in Asia measured by active military personnel, behind China, India and North Korea. It has 660,000 active personnel, of whom 560,000 are in the army, 70,000 in the air force, and 30,000 in the navy, including 3,200 Marines.
GROUND FORCE
Pakistan’s arsenal includes more than 4,600 pieces of artillery and over 2,570 main battle tanks.
AIR FORCE
Pakistan has a fleet of more than 420 combat capability aircraft, including American F16s, Chinese J-10Cs, and JF-17 Thunders.
NAVY
Pakistan’s navy has eight submarines and 12 frigates.
MISSILES
Pakistan maintains the capability of launching surface-to-surface and air-to-air missiles.
NUCLEAR ARSENAL
Pakistan has an estimated stockpile of around 170 nuclear warheads.
(Reporting by Asif Shahzad; Editing by Jan Harvey)
