Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal had confirmed on Saturday, June 7, that government is planning to increase the defence budget.
“It is out national duty to provide the armed forces with whatever they need in this budget to bolster their capacity and defend our country in the future,” Iqbal was quoted as saying by Pakistani Daily Dawn.”It has been proven that we have a dangerous neighbour who attacked us in the night, but we gave them a befitting response,” he added.
Pakistan’s previous defence budget
Pakistan had allocated PKR 2.1 trillion for defence in the FY 2024-25, which included $2 billion for equipment and other assets. Its defence budget was raised by 16.4% last year.
Pakistan’s military and defence expenditure was about $10.2 billion for FY25, as per data by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
The country tries to maintaining its nuclear capabilities and increasing its missile defence systems. As per a report by The Economic Times (ET), it has an edge over India only in the field of mobile rocket systems having 600 of them whereas India has only 264 of these systems.
Can Pakistan afford to increase defence budget?
Pakistan’s debt is rising continuously and the country witnesses economic instability and high inflation rates.
Pakistan’s economic survey 2024-25 released on June 9, revealed that the country has paid $7.8 billion in external debt service payments in the previous fiscal. It’s total public debt has increased to PKR 76 trillion.
Islamabad owes $15 billion to China, $3 billion to Japan and over $1 billion to France, with the total amount standing at about $87.4 billion that it owes to other countries and multilateral agencies, as per Firstpost.
Where does Pakistan stand in comparison to India?
With a bigger military and notably higher defence expenditure, India is far ahead of its neighbour.
India allocated $78.7 billion for defence spending for the financial year 2025-26, which is a 9.5% increase from the previous fiscal. The country’s military spending stood at $86.1 billion, as per SIPRI, making it the fifth-largest defence spender in the world.
India’s defence budget has continuously witnessed a rise over the past decade. India has also ramped up production of indigenous weapons and defence systems along with procuring fighter jets and air-defence systems from its foreign partners.
