Defence and military clout need to be curtailed: economist

The new government will find it hard to bring in any 'revolutionary' package for the poor unless defence spending is reduced remarkably and behind-the-scene political power of the military establishment is done away with.
This was the crux of the presentation on "Economic Security of People" by economist and author of many books on economy, Shahid-ur-Rehman.
The presentation was organised by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), a project of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).
Shahid said the other non-developmental expenditures in various public sector departments would also hinder the new Premier from taking 'bold decisions' for the welfare of the people.
"We will have to cut short all kinds of our non-developmental expenditures, especially the huge amount being spent on defence," Shahid proposed and said it was the only way to transform the country in a 'real' welfare state.
But at the same time, Shahid doubted the willingness among the top military ranks to allow a substantial decline in 'unnecessary' defence expenditures, currently about one-third of the total outlay of the national budget.
Referring to Dr Mahboobul Haq, he said that the late finance minister in General Zia government once proposed a 10 percent decrease in defence outlay. But the then finance minister had to face harassment and was warned of dire repercussions by the military high-ups.
"Same thinking is prevailing in the military ranks even today. This is the thing that can keep Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz away from taking any bold decision," Shahid said.
He also asked the government to ratify the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (Safta), which was signed by the country early this year.
Shahid urged the government to adopt welfare model of development and stressed the need for granting subsidiaries on daily use items to people, even if economy was not growing.
But, he said, the situation would be adverse in future citing the statement of Shaukat Aziz after being elected as prime minister, in which he said there would be no distribution of wealth, unless growth is substantially increased.
Shahid also criticised governments, past and present, for linking pricing system with international market which, he said, often created problems for common people.