Pakistan army to get Rs 1.4 trillion next fiscal year, says report

Pakistan's armed forces are likely to be allocated Rs 1.4 trillion (USD 7.6 billion) in the budget for the next fiscal year, about Rs 83 billion higher than the current year, a media report said on Sunday.

Defence spending often comes under scrutiny at the time of the announcement of the annual budget when allocati­ons for various sectors are earmarked. 

The allocation of Rs 1.453 trillion ($7.6 billion) would be about Rs 83 billion higher than the outgoing year's allocation of Rs 1.37 trillion, an increase of almost six per cent, the Dawn newspaper reported.

The increased amount, defence sources say, will be consumed mostly by the allocation for employees-related expenses, salaries and allowances of servicemen.

Other heads of the budget include civil works, which caters for the military infrastructure development and repairs; physical assets that relate to local purchases of arms and ammunition and some imports and the related costs; and operating expenses, which cover costs incurred on transport, ration, training and treatment, the report said.

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