Defending the meteoric rise in defence budget, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said in the National Assembly in the most unambiguous words that the increase is necessary after 4-day skirmishes with India and terrorism in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Pakistan announced its federal budget for fiscal year 2025-26 on Tuesday, shrinking overall spending by 7% to 17.57 trillion rupees ($62 billion) but raising defence expenditure by a steep 20% following a deadly conflict with old enemy India last month.

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan Tuesday hiked defense spending by 20% following last month’s deadly conflict with India. The government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the increase as part of the budget for the fiscal year 2025-26, in which overall spending will be cut by 7% to 17.57 trillion rupees ($62 billion).