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.
Source: Aljazeera
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