Pakistan boosts defence budget by 20% but slashes overall spending in 2025-26
“Pakistan will raise defence spending by a steep 20% after a military clash with its old enemy India last month, but will slash overall federal expenditure for fiscal 2025-26 by a hefty 7% to 17.57 trillion rupees ($62 billion).”
“The budget presented on Tuesday by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government allocated 2.55 trillion rupees ($9 billion) to defence in July-June 2025-26, up from 2.12 trillion.”
“Sharif’s government has projected 4.2% economic growth in 2025-26, saying it has steadied the economy, which looked at risk of defaulting on its debts as recently as 2023. Growth this fiscal year is likely to be 2.7%, against the budgeted target of 3.6%.”
“Pakistan’s growth lags far behind the region. In 2024, South Asian countries grew by an average of 5.8% and the Asian Development Bank expects 6.0% in 2025.”