Islamabad [Pakistan]June 4 (ANI): The Pakistani government has increased its defense budget for the current fiscal year by almost 6 percent to more than 1.45 trillion rupees to meet the vital needs of the country’s armed forces.
The decision to increase the budget was made by the Economic Coordinating Committee of Pakistan (ECC) to meet the increased wage demands and other key needs, reports The Express Tribune.
In addition to the decision to increase the defense budget by another 80 billion kroons, a total of additional grants of 182 billion kroons were approved.
According to a Tribune report, Pakistan’s Ministry of Defense has demanded an additional defense budget of PKR 80 billion for “critical deficiencies”. In addition, additions were made to the costs of the Gina Naval Base, the Turbat Naval Base and the multifunctional office building at the headquarters.
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail chaired a meeting of the ECC, which approved an additional budget of Pakistan’s armed forces of 80 billion rupees, the newspaper said.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), global military spending has reached an all-time high of $ 2.1 trillion in 2021. The top three winners are the United States, China and India.
“Total global military spending in 2021 increased in real terms by 0.7 percent and reached 2113 billion US dollars. The five largest spending in 2021 was the United States, China, India, the United Kingdom and Russia, which together accounted for 62 percent of spending, “said a report released in April in Stockholm.
“Even with the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, global military spending has reached record levels,” said Dr. Diego Lopez da Silva, senior researcher in SIPRI’s military spending and weapons production program. “Due to inflation, there was a slowdown in real terms. However, in nominal terms, military spending rose by 6.1 percent.” As a result of economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, defense spending amounted to 2.2 percent of world GDP, while in 2020 the figure reached 2.3 percent.
According to the Stockholm Institute, India’s military spending of $ 76.6 billion ranked third in the world. This is an increase of 0.9 percent compared to 2020 and 33 percent compared to 2012. (ANI)
