• DG ISPR said that the defense budget for FY 2022-23 has decreased
• He added that the factors such as inflation and rupee depreciation led to the decrease
• It was 2.8pc of GDP last year and now at 2.2pc so the budget is continuously going down in GDP terms

RAWALPINDI: The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Babar Iftikhar said that the defense budget for the fiscal year 2022-23 had decreased contrary to the perception.

He maintained that the factors such as inflation and rupee depreciation led to the decrease in the defense budget for the coming fiscal year adding that the budget was now 2.2 percent of the GDP from 2.8pc last year.

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In an interview on a private channel, DG ISPR denied the claims that the budget for the force had seen an increase maintaining that there was an annual debate on the army’s allocation following the budget, adding that the money earmarked for defence services was based on the “threat perception, challenges, deployment and the resources available.

“So [after] considering at all these things, the army hasn’t had any [net] increase in the budget since 2020,” the DG ISPR added.

“It was 2.8pc of GDP last year and now we are at 2.2pc so the budget is continuously going down in GDP terms.”

Notably, Babar Iftikhar also said that despite the challenges, Pakistan Army didn’t allow any shortcoming in its capabilities. Not only this, he said that instructions were passed to conserve fuel and other utilities in light of the current economic situation.