Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan has increased its defence spending by more than 20 percent – the most substantial hike in a decade – following last month’s military confrontation with neighbouring India.
Presenting the annual federal budget on June 10, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb proposed an allocation of 2.55 trillion rupees ($9bn) for the country’s three armed services – the army, air force and navy – amounting to 1.97 percent of Pakistan’s gross domestic product (GDP), up from 1.7 percent in the previous budget.
