Our defense budget increased by 20% after border clashes with India, as the fragile economy remains dependent on loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Presenting the annual federal budget on June 10, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb proposed an allocation of 2.55 trillion rupees ($9bn) for the country’s three armed services – the army, air force and navy – amounting to 1.97 percent of Pakistan’s gross domestic product (GDP), up from 1.7 percent in the previous budget.
