Military power of Turkey & Pakistan

Turkey participates in the NATO nuclear weapons sharing arrangements and trains for delivering United States nuclear warheads.

Pakistan is one of several nations that are not the part of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Yet, the Pakistani government managed to acquire nuclear warheads, or at least it is believed so. The entire pursuit for nuclear power began at the beginning of 1970s. It was back then, when Western Powers heard about Pakistan efforts of developing nuclear weapons. At the beginning the government established first nuclear power plant. It was located near Karachi. Noteworthy is the fact that it was possible due to the help of Western nations, which provided Pakistan with necessary equipment and materials. Later on, the president of Pakistan said that the main goal of Pakistan is to construct nuclear weapons. It was a response to India’s claim that they are capable of building nuclear weapons.

Although throughout the 1970s and at the beginning of 1980s there were little facts regarding Pakistan’ nuclear capabilities, there were rumours that from the mid-1980s, Pakistan already had a few warheads. However, it was only in 1998 that Pakistan decided to conduct their first nuclear tests. There were 6 tests and they were the response to 5 tests that India conducted several weeks before Pakistan.

21-41 years of age for male compulsory military service; 18 years of age for voluntary service; 12 months conscript obligation for non-university graduates, 6-12 months for university graduates (graduates of higher education may perform 6 months of military service as short-term privates, or 12 months as reserve officers); conscripts are called to register at age 20, for service at 21; women serve in the Turkish Armed Forces only as officers; reserve obligation to age 41; Turkish citizens with a residence or work permit who have worked abroad for at least 3 years (1095 days) can be exempt from military service in exchange for 6,000 EUR or its equivalent in foreign currencies; a law passed in December 2014 introduced a one-time payment scheme which exempted Turkish citizens 27 and older from conscription in exchange for a payment of $8,150.

16-23 years of age for voluntary military service; soldiers cannot be deployed for combat until age 18; the Pakistani Air Force and Pakistani Navy have inducted their first female pilots and sailors; the Pakistan Air Force recruits aviation technicians at age 15; service obligation (Navy) 10-18 years; retirement required after 18-30 years service or age 40-52.