 "A man carries a portrait of Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, during a rally to express solidarity with Pakistan's armed forces, in Islamabad. AFP")
Pakistan’s Finance Minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, on Tuesday (June 10) presented the annual federal budget for FY 2025-26. The allocation for defence stood out as he unveiled the budget.
Pakistan has allotted Pakistani rupees (PKR) 2,550 billion, or US$9 billion, for defence in its Budget 2025-26- a rise of over 20 per cent from the previous fiscal year. The move comes exactly a month after Pakistan urged India for de-escalation as Operation Sindoor wreaked havoc on the country’s military infrastructure.
Aurangzeb even alluded to the India-Pakistan tensions in his speech, saying “This budget is being presented during a historic moment, as the country pressed on through difficult times[…]This budget is being presented at a historic time when the nation showed unity [and] determination.”
The FY25-26 budget has a total outlay of PKR 17.573 trillion ($62 billion), representing a 6.9 per cent decrease from the previous year’s budget. Total outlay is the sum of expenditures and net lending of funds.
Pakistan had allocated PKR 2.1 trillion Pakistani rupees ($7.45 billion) for defence in the previous fiscal year, including $2 billion for equipment and other assets. Further, PKR 563 billion ($1.99 billion), was set aside for military pensions. The allocation is not counted within the official defence budget.
More to come