Pakistan to raise defence spending by ₹83 billion; armed forces to get ₹1.4 trillion in Budget

According to sources, the spending per soldier is about ₹2.65 million per annum, which, they claim, is not even one-third of what India spends.

Pakistan’s armed forces are likely to be allocated $7.6 billion in the Budget for the next fiscal year, about ₹83 billion higher than the current year, a media report said on Sunday.

Defence spending often comes under scrutiny at the time of the annou­nce­ment of the annual budget when allocati­ons for various sectors are earmarked.

The allocation of ₹1.453 trillion ($7.6 billion) would be about ₹83 billion higher than the outgoing year’s allocation of ₹1.37 trillion, an increase of almost 6%, the Dawn newspaper reported.

The increased amount, defence sources say, will be consumed mostly by the allocation for employees-related expenses, salaries and allowances of servicemen.

Other heads of the Budget include civil works, which caters for the military infrastructure development and repairs; physical assets that relate to local purchases of arms and ammunition and some imports and the related costs; and operating expenses, which cover costs incurred on transport, ration, training and treatment, the report said.

The powerful Pakistan Army, which has ruled the coup-prone country for more than half of its nearly 75 years of existence, has hitherto wielded considerable power in the matters of security and foreign policy.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was ousted from power in April through a no-trust vote, had apparently lost support of the Army after he refused to endorse the appointment of the ISI spy agency chief last year.