Pakistan has decided to increase its defence spending by 18 per cent amid escalating tensions with India. The increase will amount to over Rs 2.5 trillion in the next budget due to tensions with India, according to a media report. The Pakistan coalition government is set to unveil the 2025-26 budget in the first week of the next month, ahead of the start of the new fiscal year from July 1.
According to a report by the Express Tribune, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) delegation, led by its chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his economic team to discuss the budget matters on Monday.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led government shared roughly Rs 17.5 trillion worth of a new budget framework with its key ally, the PPP, which agreed to an 18 per cent increase in the defence outlay.
There was a consensus between the PML-N and the PPP to increase the defence budget due to the recent wave of tensions with India, the newspaper said, quoting sources.
In the current fiscal year 2024-25, the government allocated Rs 2,122 billion for defence spending, reflecting a 14.98 per cent increase over Rs 1,804 billion budgeted for the outgoing fiscal year 2023-24.
The defence sector expenses are the second biggest component of the annual expenditure after the debt payments. In the current year, Rs 9,700 billion allocated for debt servicing constitutes the single biggest expense of the country.
India on April 23 announced a raft of punitive measures against Pakistan, including suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, shutting down of the only operational land border crossing at Attari and downgrading of diplomatic ties in view of cross-border links to the attack.
In response, Pakistan shut its airspace to Indian airliners and suspended all trade with India, including through third countries.
(With inputs from AP)
