Pakistan Army chief said that the defence budget cuts won't affect operational preparedness. But is the defence sector actually cutting back? Or is it just another attempt to persuade the world that for now, Pakistan is changing its ways.

Pakistan Army Budget Cut

New Delhi: The Pakistan military talks about accepting budget cuts and about sharing the pain. Pakistan, everyone knows, is going through a difficult economic situation, having just asked international agencies for a loan. But is the defence sector actually cutting back? Or is it just another attempt to persuade the world that for now, Pakistan is changing its ways, and will not be spending an enormous amount of money on defence and also, cut down wasteful expenditure? 

Let's look at the numbers, released by the Pakistan finance ministry on June 4. Between July 2018 and March 2019, when the financial year ends, Pakistan spent Pakistani Rupees 774.7 billion (1 Indian Rupee is worth 2.1 Pakistani Rupees) on defence. And this is for nine months, not the entire year. The Pakistani finance ministry figures show this is an increase of Rs 151 billion, a rise of 24 per cent compared with the corresponding period the previous year. That doesn't look like too much of a cut. So, how much of budget goes to defence? It is at 27 per cent. In comparison, India's is about 15 per cent.

And this, when the economy is faltering and the government is having to ask international institutions for aid. The budget deficit is Rupees 1.92 trillion, Rs 300 million more than what was feared. Defence spending and covering for the deficit consumed 77.7 per cent of the government's revenues in the nine months. And it is 61.1 per cent of the government's expenditures. There is little if any chance of high growth leading to revenue increases either. For GDP growth is expected to be between 2.4 to 27 per cent.

So, what about development expenditure? Pakistan is a third-world country and surely, there is a requirement for human resource development, health, infrastructure and rural development? Development spending is Rs 302 billion, less than half of defence spending!

So, why talk about budget cuts? Pakistan has just signed an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, which usually looks at cuts in spending and subsidies, Already, the development spending is down from Rs 472 billion to Rs 302 billion. It's clearly the right time to talk about cuts in defence expenditure. As it is, the economic situation is hurting the military. The Combat Air Patrols, the Pakistan Air Force was doing since the Pulwama terror attack on February 12 has been reduced partly because of fuel shortages and also, spares problems.

Pakistan has gone to the IMF several times in the past. And each time, it has failed to restructure the economy. Is there any chance of that happening now?