RAWALPINDI – Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, while spending Eid with troops along Line of Control (LoC) on Wednesday, stated that the voluntary cuts in the defence budget were not a ‘favour’ to the nation.
While talking to troops, the army chief said that best Eid for a soldier is to have pride for being on duty of defending the motherland even on such festive days away from family. “Remember, for us, the defenders of Pakistan, our first family is the Pakistani nation, then the ones back home”, COAS said.
Talking about the military’s voluntary decision to forego even the routine increase in annual defence budget, the COAS said, “we are one, through thick and thin”.
“Foregoing routine inc in annual def budget is not a favour to the nation as we are one, through thick & thin. There shall be no impact on our response potential to any threat & quality of life of sldrs. No pay raise decision is also only for the offrs & not for the sldrs”, COAS. pic.twitter.com/ZzBA4O5NTU
— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) June 5, 2019
In an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release shared by Director General of ISPR Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor on Twitter, the COAS also clarified that: “Irrespective of the voluntary cut in defence budget [for the] coming financial year (FY), there shall be no impact on our response potential to all types of threat and quality of life of the soldiers.”
Gen Bajwa also assured his troops that the ‘no pay raise’ decision applied only for officers and not for soldiers.
https://twitter.com/OfficialDGISPR/status/1136190448224153602
“We shall manage the shortfall […] by tightening our belt in areas where it doesn’t affect the two aforesaid aspects,” he said.
Last night, Prime Minister Imran Khan had revealed on Twitter that the military had agreed to slash the defence budget for the next fiscal year in line with broader austerity measures being introduced by the government.
The premier noted that these cuts were agreed to despite “multiple security challenges”.
Khan promised that the money saved would be diverted to aid the development of the merged tribal areas and Balochistan.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/pakistans-military-to-cut-defence-expenditure-despite-multiple-security-challenges/
The military’s media wing had stated in a later tweet that the cuts “will not be at the cost of of defense and security”, and that it was important for the military to participate in the rebuilding of Balochistan and the erstwhile tribal areas.
The military’s spokesman had further stated that the slashes would be managed “internally” by all three branches of the armed forces taking into account strategic compulsions.
On June 11, Finance Adviser to PM Hafeez Shaikh is due to announce spending plans for the financial year beginning in July.
Under Pakistan’s devolved system, the federal government must hand over more than half its budget to the provinces, and the remainder is mostly eaten up by debt servicing and the military’s vast budget.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/pakistan-army-responds-to-fake-indian-media-for-spinning-on-defence-budget/
In his latest tweet, the ISPR chief also criticised the Indian media for “spinning” the news of Pakistani defence budget cuts.
Maj-Gen Asif Ghafoor said that “Indian fake media [is] busy spinning on our internal def budgeting choice,” reminding the neighbouring nation of its defeat in an aerial combat over the disputed Kashmir region earlier this year.
https://twitter.com/OfficialDGISPR/status/1136221749752795136
“Don’t forget, we were the same forces with same budget on 27 Feb 19. We [have] the capability & capacity to respond. Remember, it’s not budgeting, it’s resolve of force & the nation firmly standing behind its forces,” he added.
On Feb 27th, Pakistan Air Force had shot down two Indian fighter jets over the disputed border region of Kashmir, in a significant escalation of the crisis between the two nuclear-armed powers.
Pakistan also captured an Indian pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, and to India’s fury, published a video of him. He was later handed over to Indian authorities.
