Pakistan’s Defense Budget Increase to 17.62% for FY 2024-25

The Pakistani government has proposed a 17.62% increase in defence spending for the fiscal year 2024-25, bringing the total to Rs2.122 trillion.

Significantly, Rs0.815 trillion of this budget will cover employee-related expenses, such as salaries and allowances for defence services. This marks an increase from the previous year’s Rs0.715 trillion allocated for similar expenses.

Documents reveal an Rs0.318 trillion hike in the defence budget compared to last year’s allocation. Despite this increase, the proportion of the defence budget has decreased relative to the total federal budget. Last year, defence spending was Rs1.8 trillion, representing 12.47% of the total Rs14.46 trillion budget. Despite the total budget having grown to Rs18.877 trillion this year, defence’s share has dropped to 11.24%.

The rise in defence spending is largely due to a 22 to 25% increase in government employee salaries. The budget outlines Rs0.548 trillion for physical assets, Rs0.5133 trillion for operational expenses, and Rs0.244 trillion for civil works.

Allocations include Rs1.009 trillion for the Pakistan Army, Rs0.451 trillion for the Pakistan Air Force, Rs0.2303 trillion for the Pakistan Navy, and Rs0.4314 trillion for other defence-related establishments.

It’s noteworthy that India’s defence budget for this year stands at $75 billion, almost 10 times the size of Pakistan’s proposed defence budget of $7.59 billion.