In what comes as the biggest annual hike in 10 years, the Pakistan government has proposed a 20 per cent increase in the country's defence budget. The increase in defence spending comes amid heightened tensions with India in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and the four-day intense military stand-off that followed.
The 2.55 trillion Pakistani rupee allocation—14.51 per cent of the total federal outlay of 17.57 trillion rupee—for the armed forces is in contrast with the decline in national spending in areas like education and health in terms of GDP. The defence allocation accounts for nearly 2 per cent of the country's GDP.
"The security situation in the country is precarious and the armed forces have rendered commendable service in protecting the borders," Pakistan Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said while presenting the budget for the fiscal year 2025-26.
The increase in defence spending comes even as there has been a cutback on overall spending.
According to media reports, under the defence budget, there has been an increase in operational, infrastructure, and employee-related expenses.
Some posit that the Pakistani government has decided to increase the defence spending in an attempt to meet the demands of Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal General Asim Munir.
The defence minister, while presenting the budget, had said, “The spirit with which we protected our national sovereignty, we need to ensure our financial security the same way.”
He also said there would be a special relief allowance for officers and junior-commissioned officers “in light of the contribution of the armed forces to defending our borders.”
It is to be noted that India had made a provision of Rs 6,81,210.27 crore for the Financial Year (FY) 2025-26 for the defence ministry—a 9.53 per cent increase from the previous year.