Pakistan's Finance Minister Presents the Country's Next Budget that Hikes Defense Spending
The increase comes as Pakistan faces higher security costs, with defence spending set to reach about 2% of GDP, officials said.
- On Friday, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presented the government's new budget to Parliament, raising defense spending by 18% while trimming development funding and offering modest tax relief for salaried workers.
- The budget aligns with conditions under Pakistan's $7 billion International Monetary Fund program, which mandates higher revenues and structural reforms to reduce chronic fiscal deficits facing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government.
- Aurangzeb told lawmakers total spending would reach 18.77 trillion rupees , with the government targeting 4% economic growth and 8.2% inflation for the coming year despite persistent household price pressures.
- Regional tensions, including conflict with neighboring Afghanistan and the war in the Middle East, strain national stability; Kabul denies harboring Pakistani militants fighting the government in Islamabad.
- Lawmakers will vote on the proposal later this month as Pakistan's fiscal year 2026-27 begins on July 1, marking the deadline for legislative approval before the new budget takes effect.
23 Articles
23 Articles
Pakistan plans to utilize provincial funds as defense spending rises
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan plans to tap a portion of provincial funds to help meet its defense requirements over the next three years, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Saturday. The statement came a day after Pakistan unveiled a Rs18.77 trillion ($67.49 billion) federal budget and increased its defense spending by around 18 percent to Rs3 trillion ($10.8 billion) for the
Defence budget raised by 17.6%
Faced with mounting security challenges on both its eastern and western frontiers and the emergence of new forms of warfare, the federal government on Friday proposed a 17.6% increase in defence spending for the fiscal year 2026-27, signalling Islamabad's growing concern over an increasingly complex regional security environment. The government allocated Rs3,010 billion for defence in the new budget, up from Rs2,557 billion in the outgoing fisca…
Pakistan's finance minister presents country's next budget
Pakistan's finance minister has presented the new budget to lawmakers, a draft that hikes defense spending by 18% while trimming funding for development programs and offering modest tax reliefs for salaried workers
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