June 13, 2016
President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), President AKIA, Senior Vice Chairman of the Businessmen Panel of FPCCI and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Monday said defence budget should be increased keeping in view the internal and external challenges faced by the country.
The defence allocation should be increased from Rs860 billion to Rs1 trillion as operation against terrorists has entered in its final phase, relations with some neighbouring countries are deteriorating while enemies have ganged up to damage the game-changer project of economic corridor, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that Rangers have turnaround the situation in Karachi therefore its budget and powers should also be reviewed so that Karachi could not be pushed into darkness again.
Fourteen years back Pakistan used to spend 4.6 percent of the GDP on defence which has been reduced to 2.6 percent which is amazing.
He said that PSDP takes the lions share in the budget with allocation of 1675 billion rupees, debt servicing will cost 1360 billion rupees while defence will get Rs860 billion in which the share of army will be around 48 percent. On the other hand military budget of India has reached to USD50 billion.
US spends over $4.5 hundred thousand dollars on a soldier per annum while India spends 33 thousand dollars on a soldier but Pakistan only spends 12 thousand dollars on a soldier. Despite reduced allocations the army has given amazing results which has helped it win hearts and minds of people, he said.
