Pakistan to hike defence budget by 18 pc amid escalating tension with India
The PPP backed the proposal to increase the defence budget by 18 per cent to over Rs 2.5 trillion in the light of the prevailing security threats
Amid soaring tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people, mostly tourists dead, Pakistan has decided to hike its defence budget to over Rs 2.5 trillion in the next fiscal year.
Significantly, the development comes before the unveiling of Pakistan’s 2025-26 budget in the first week of June.
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Bilawal meets PM
The decision to increase the defence budget was taken following a meeting between the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) delegation, led by its chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his economic team to discuss the budget matters on Monday, reported the Express Tribune.
During the meeting the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led government shared roughly Rs 17.5 trillion worth of new budget framework with its key ally, the PPP, which agreed to defence budget hike.
Quoting sources, the Express Tribune reported that PML-N and the PPP reached a mutual agreement to increase the defence budget with an eye on the escalating tensions with India.
Support from allies
They said that the PPP backed the proposal to increase the defence budget by 18 per cent to over Rs 2.5 trillion in the light of the prevailing security threats.
In the fiscal 2024-25, the Pakistani government allocated Rs 2,122 billion for defence spending, reflecting a 14.98 per cent increase over Rs 1,804 billion budgeted for the fiscal year 2023-24.
Prioritising defence
Defence sector expenses are the second-biggest component of the annual expenditure after debt payments. In the current year, Rs 9,700 billion allocated for debt servicing constitutes the single biggest expense of the country.
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Earlier, media reports said that Pakistan was facing a severe shortage of artillery ammunition and has ammunition that is adequate only for 96 hours of high-intensity combat in the current situation.
India has already announced a series of punitive diplomatic measures against Pakistan including keeping the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance, banning all imports from Pakistan and suspending mail and postal services to and from the neighbouring country. Pakistan has responded by closing its airspace for Indian airlines amid its continuous sabre-rattling.
(With agency inputs)