Defense budget reduced to 2.2% of GDP from 2.8%: DG ISPR
Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Babar Iftikhar has said that contrary to perception, defense budget allocation for the financial year 2022-2023 had decreased to 2.2 percent of GDP from 2.8 percent last year, due to factors such as inflation and depreciation of the rupee.
Talking to private news channel, Pakistan Army spokesperson Major General Babar Iftikhar said that the visit of Chief of Army Staff to China was very important.
He said that Pakistan’s relations with China are strategic and very important. General Qamar Javed Bajwa is the first Army Chief to meet President Xi Jinping. China has always stood by us. The purpose of this visit was to strengthen relations.
He said that China has played an important role in enhancing Pakistan’s defense force, there has been no reduction in security in CPEC, contacts at government level are progressing, several memoranda were signed during the visit to China, which will have far-reaching implications.
Major General Babar Iftikhar said that whenever the budget is presented, there is always a debate on the defense budget. The defense budget is kept in view of the threat situation, challenges, deployment and resources. We are fulfilling all our responsibilities within our limited resources.
A spokesman for the Pakistan Army said, “On the contrary, you see India’s growing defense budget. India has increased its defense budget while the Pakistan Army is reducing its utility spending. Analyzing the potential of the enemy, we must be ready at all times. Our past also shows that we have always faced challenges from there [India].
The DG ISPR said that at present India has 1.3 million troops while our army is 5.5 million. At present, 50 per cent of the army is stationed on the eastern border while 40 per cent is deployed on the western border. The rest of the army is involved in natural disasters, with cantonments and internal security.
The Pakistani forces have not increased their budget since 2020. The defense budget has been reduced due to inflation. The defense budget is going down in terms of GDP. However, we have not reduced our military capabilities. At the moment we have reduced the defense budget by Rs100 billion which needs to be understood.
Major General Babar Iftikhar further said that the Army Chief has directed that the exercises should be carried out on a small scale instead of on a large scale. We have reduced our unnecessary mobility, Savings are being made in utility bills, diesel and petrol in the Armed Forces.
