According to a Business Recorder news item, Pakistan’s defense budget for next fiscal year has been projected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in second and final review documents of the Stand-By Arrangement at Rs 2,152 billion – a 19.29 percent increase over Rs 1,804 billion budgeted for the current fiscal year.

Doesn’t the forgoing appear odd in view of the fact that it is not the government of Pakistan but a global lending agency that is giving estimates of country’s defence budget for the next fiscal year. In my view, this shall never appear plausible to a Pakistani audience.

Defence budget is a country’s comprehensive account of defence spending or the money spent by a government to provide its military with weapons, equipment, and soldiers, etc. In other words, it is the amount that a country spends on military measures or resources.

The defence spending is decided in light of real and perceived threats to a country’s security. In my view, therefore, the IMF or any other lending agency for the matter must not have been involved in determining allocations for country’s defence.

It is something that clearly presents a sardonic comment on our woeful state of affairs. But it is no fault of the IMF for we ourselves are responsible for bringing the country to this pretty pass. Nations with no other options must be content with what is offered by a lender. Yes, we are one such nation.

Sultana Mehdi

Karachi

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