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Pakistan set to raise defence budget by 16 percent
ISLAMABAD: The federal government is all set to raise the allocation for defence services by around 16.27 percent in the forthcoming budget for 2009-10, official sources told Daily Times on Saturday.
According to the sources, the Ministry of Finance had been requested to allocate Rs 351 billion for defence in the forthcoming budget. However, keeping in view the overall economic situation of the country, the ministry approved Rs 343 billion for defence for the year, the officials said. The sources said that between Rs 1.7 billion and 2 billion would be added in the overall defence allocations for meeting the expenses of the civil administration in the Defence Ministry. The armed forces would be required to manage the expenditures of their engagements in Swat as well as other areas within the proposed allocation of Rs 343 billion, despite the fact that Pakistani rupee has lost its value by over 30 percent due to depreciation against the US dollar in the April-July period and inflation that is currently estimated at 22.35 percent, the official sources said. Stretched: It would be difficult for the armed forces to acquire new weapons in the upcoming year, as imports would become costlier due to the devaluation of the rupee. The country has already entered into a $7.6 billion International Monetary Fund standby arrangement and the Finance Ministry has been trying to keep each of its expense heads within manageable limits while preparing the upcoming budget, the sources added. Posted by: john frum 2009-05-24 |
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