Defence spending surges in Islamabad’s new budget, even as overall expenditures shrink.
Pakistan has announced a major boost to defence spending in its new budget, just weeks after coming to the brink of a fifth war with archrival India.
The budget for the fiscal year 2025-2026, announced by the government on Tuesday, ramps up defence spending to 2.55 trillion rupees ($9bn), up 20 percent from the current fiscal year, which ends this month.
The hike in defence expenditures comes amid a cut in overall spending, which is shrinking by 7 percent to 17.57 trillion rupees ($62bn).
The budget reflects Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s goals of spurring growth while boosting Pakistan’s military in the wake of the most serious conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours in nearly three decades.
The bitter foes attacked each other with fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery for several days in May before a ceasefire was declared.
The hostilities were triggered by a deadly attack by gunmen in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22, which India accused Pakistan of supporting. Pakistan denied any role in the attack.
A 20 percent boost in defence spending had been expected by economists, who said it would likely be offset by cuts in development spending, the Reuters news agency reported.
India’s defence spending in its 2025-2026 fiscal year, running from April to March, was set at $78.7bn, up nearly 10 percent from the previous year, and it has indicated it will ramp up its spending further in future budgets.
