India-Pakistan conflict: 'It's David vs Goliath, but David has nuclear weapons'
| Updated:
India has carried out military strikes on Pakistan, in retaliation to an attack on tourists in Kashmir – which both have sought to control. Is this the start of a new conflict between the neighbouring countries?
Listen to this article
Read time: 3 mins
In brief…
- Decades-old tensions between India and Pakistan over control of Kashmir have been re-ignited after a military strike killed 26 in response to a terror attack on tourists in April 2025.
- Foreign affairs writer Tim Marshall tells The News Agents all eyes are on the rival countries to see if either escalates the conflict, describing it as “David versus Goliath, but with nuclear weapons in David’s slingshot”.
- He adds that the two countries are a long way from war, but say previous incidents involving the two suggest that things can escalate “quickly”.
What’s the story?
Conflict between India and Pakistan, dating back nearly 80 years, has re-ignited around the ruling and ownership of Kashmir.
India launched strikes on Pakistan and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, reportedly killing 26 and injuring 46, in retaliation to an attack on Indian tourists in Kashmir which left 26 people dead in April.
Pakistan has denied any involvement in the April attack, and said India's strikes were "unprovoked" – while India has said its actions targeted a "terrorist infrastructure" and were "focused, measured and non-escalatory".
Jon Sopel describes the current situation in the region as a “powder keg”, with all eyes watching to see what happens next.
What’s the backstory?
Tensions between India and Pakistan have been high since the British pulled out of the continent, dividing it, – mostly along religious lines – in 1947.
Kashmir – a largely Muslim region, became part of India, where the majority of people are Hindu.
Pakistan has long contested India’s claim to Kashmir, and its population is also divided on where it belongs, or if it should become an independent country.
Further conflicts have taken place in the decades since, but this new escalation is the most deadly attack since Kashmir was given semi-autonomous status in 2019.
What are the concerns about escalation in this conflict?
Tim Marshall, author and foreign affairs writer, describes the long-running dispute over Kashmir as a "deeply passionate" situation for everyone involved in the region.
He tells The News Agents there is a greater concern that if the situation between India and Pakistan continues to deteriorate, superpowers such as America, and specifically China, could get involved.
China controls a small part of Kashmir, Aksai Chin, in the north of the country, and has traditionally supported Pakistan in previous disputes.
Marshall says that if India gains an advantage over Pakistan it could threaten China's stake in the country.
"Would the Americans get involved? I doubt it, to be honest, they're a little bit busy at the moment. Would China? It would rather not," Marshall says.
"The nightmare scenario is that things get so out of hand that there is a major war India might be winning. It could even threaten to take Kashmir, at which point that would threaten China's interests.
"And so you could have the scenario of China getting dragged in, but I think we're a long way from that."
He says that aggression between India and Pakistan would only escalate further if either crosses the border into its neighbour – which has not yet happened.
"I looked at the language used by both sides, and it tells me that actually neither of them want a war, especially the Indian Army," says Marshall.
He says comments from India place the blame on Pakistan for the April attack on tourists, but clearly state that the retaliatory attack was not on the country, but the terrorists responsible.
The strength of India's military far outweighs that of Pakistan, but Marshall says there are concerns over what comes next.
"It might be David versus Goliath, but David has got nuclear weapons in his slingshot," he says.
"That's why we pay so much attention to this, because they have fought three wars. India especially, sometimes displays a willingness to climb the escalatory ladder if they think it's necessary – and so you can quickly find yourself in dangerous territory."
Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents.
