Pakistan increase of defence budget by nearly 10 percent for the fiscal year 2012-2013.

Pakistan Friday, June 1, 2012, increased by nearly 10 percent the allocation for defense in its budget for fiscal 2012-13 (from July 2012 to June 2013) to 545 billion rupees (5.82 billion U.S. dollars). The budget documents presented in parliament showed a sum of 545 billion rupees had been allocated for the defense services, compared with 495 billion rupees earmarked in the fiscal year ending on June 30.

Pakistani army soldiers during a military parade

The budget documents further stated that the actual expenditure on defense during fiscal 2011-12 was 509.32 billion rupees (5.45 billion U.S. dollars), or 14.32 billion rupees more than the allocation of 495 billion rupees. The allocation for defense amounted to 18.4 percent of the total outlay of 2,960 billion rupees for fiscal 2012-13. The Pakistan government has traditionally made defense allocations with the objective of maintaining conventional parity with India. However, a crippling financial crunch has forced the government to balance military spending and expenditure on development and welfare programs. U.S. suspension and decrease in aid has affected Pakistan's defense budget, analysts said. A security analyst Brig. (retd) Mehmood Shah said that the United States has stopped all military aid to Pakistan after a NATO airstrike on border posts and killing 24 soldiers. Suspension of U.S. assistance has also hit expenses on the war on terrorism, he said. Opposition deputies created uproar during the budget speech which forced the Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh to end his budget speech without ready his written speech. Members of the main opposition PML-N, who were protesting against power cuts and corruption during the minister's speech, exchanged hot words with members of the ruling Pakistan People's Party in the National Assembly or lower house of parliament. State-run TV showed pandemonium, which was also aired by private TV channels. Opposition leader in the House, Chuadhry Nisar Ali Khan, rejected the budget as anti-poor and said the government has failed to announce any relief for the common people Source Armyrecognistion.