Pakistan ramps up defence spending by 20 percent after India conflict

Defence spending surges successful Islamabad’s caller budget, adjacent arsenic wide expenditures shrink.

Pakistan has announced a large boost to defence spending successful its caller budget, conscionable weeks aft coming to the brink of a 5th warfare with archrival India.

The fund for the fiscal twelvemonth 2025-2026, announced by the authorities connected Tuesday, ramps up defence spending to 2.55 trillion rupees ($9bn), up 20 percent from the existent fiscal year, which ends this month.

The hike successful defence expenditures comes amid a chopped successful wide spending, which is shrinking by 7 percent to 17.57 trillion rupees ($62bn).

The fund reflects Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s goals of spurring maturation portion boosting Pakistan’s subject successful the aftermath of the astir superior struggle betwixt the nuclear-armed neighbours successful astir 3 decades.

The bitter foes attacked each different with combatant jets, missiles, drones and artillery for respective days successful May earlier a ceasefire was declared.

The hostilities were triggered by a deadly attack by gunmen successful Pahalgam successful Indian-administered Kashmir connected April 22, which India accused Pakistan of supporting. Pakistan denied immoderate relation successful the attack.

A 20 percent boost successful defence spending had been expected by economists, who said it would apt beryllium offset by cuts successful improvement spending, the Reuters quality bureau reported.

India’s defence spending successful its 2025-2026 fiscal year, moving from April to March, was acceptable astatine $78.7bn, up astir 10 percent from the erstwhile year, and it has indicated it volition ramp up its spending further successful aboriginal budgets.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies