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.