Pakistan's Defence budget to remain unchanged

Pakistan's Defence budget during the next fiscal year will remain unchanged as compared to the outgoing fiscal year in rupee terms due to the countrys dire economic condition, a media report said on Saturday.

Prime Minister Imran Khan took to Twitter to announce that the military had "voluntarily agreed" to cut its expenditures due to "critical financial situation", Dawn news reported. 

He noted the continuing "multiple security challenges" and pledged to spend the saved amount on development of the erstwhile tribal areas, which have been merged into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan.

The defence budget freeze will be for one year.

The original budgetary allocation for the outgoing fiscal year (2018-19) was 1.1 trillion Pakistani rupees. 

The allocation made up 21 per cent of last year's original budget outlay and 3.2 per cent of the GDP.

Little details are officially available about the impact of the budget freeze that comes against the backdrop of the government's agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $6 billion bailout package. IANS