Further cuts to defense expenditures

[YaqoobAlam]

Instead of buying think what you could have sold to Ukraine instead


Where are all those forum economists that kept saying we have ALL the money in the world to keep "buying" stuff using loans. Lets see what happens as those loans start coming due.
Wondering why we are not seeing more JF-17 Block IIIs ... its the economy.

Sir selling them weapons would make us party to the conflict and attract ire from Russia.

 

[bossara_rana]

Remove them all and you have a Army that can't even wash their own dishes, clothes , and make their own food. They need slaves yet they are the Mujahid's lol Bloody Chickens.

This is the reason why there should be atleast 1 year of mandatory service in the armed forces for every Pakistani. I personally don't Condone the recent behavior of the leadership but what this person is saying is delusional.

 

[waz]

The economy is at the heart of it. Now with the current set-up and the major loss in confidence the hit will be harder.

 

[Waterboy]

tbh I think the forum public's "eyes" are on the part of the budget that goes into salaries, pensions, and perceived perks and concessions.

PS: My old man left the PAF early and left his pension, etc on the table. So, my view on this matter is definitely a little biased. Having seen my father pursue further education and training outside of the PAF and work his way up in the non-military world... I'm of the view that we shouldn't be giving pensions to able-bodied and minded people, even if they retire. Rather, focus more on training officers and men with knowledge and skills they can transfer to the civilian world.

I disagree. Father retired from service and was diagnosed with life threatening cancer. Can't work outside and the pension is sustaining us.

Everywhere in the world veterans get pensions. Pakistan army is no exception.

 

[Jango]

IMF usually does not ask countries to cut down on specific heads. They ask for overall expenditures to be cut. Where you cut them is up to the host nation.

To be even more specific, it asks you to bridge the fiscal deficit. They just give the most easiest ways to do it, but if you can give them some other, more than happy to accept.

 

[313ghazi]

Yet again our defence capabilities are curbed by the incompetence of imported govt. Yet the establishment continue to persist with these people.

At some point we'll never recover.

 

[PakFactor]

Considering the strategic challenges that Pak faces, a cut in Pak Fauj's capex budget is uncalled for. The budget should at least keep pace with inflation and in USD terms it shouldnt fall.

Regards

Due to economic situation there are no funds or very limited. Situation of its own making.

As the great Donald Rumsfeld once said,

You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.

 

[blain2]

Pakistan slashes military modernization fund by 20%​

Kiran Ridley
Usman Ansari
Fri, July 8, 2022, 4:37 PM


ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s military modernization it taking a hit, with the government slashing the budget for the Armed Forces Development Program by 72 billion rupees (U.S. $346 million) — a decrease of about 20%.
The move helps meet a demand by the International Monetary Fund that the country achieve a primary budget surplus of 153 billion rupees, or 0.2% of the national output for the new financial year in order to revive an IMF bailout package.
The government allocated 363 billion rupees for the AFDP modernization effort when it presented the fiscal 2022-2023 budget on June 10. The revised AFDP figure — 291 billion rupees — was made public by the Finance Ministry after the National Assembly approved the budget.
Analyst and former Australian defense attache to Islamabad, Brian Cloughley, believes the current economic crisis has left Pakistan with no room to maneuver.

“The IMF had to be strict, and one obvious and not unwelcome avenue for [Prime Minister] Shehbaz Sharif is to reduce the defense allocation, although the development program appears to be the only specific target sector,” he said.
Among other adjustments to the FY22-23 federal budget, the defense fund will now receive an additional 41 billion rupees; operationally speaking, this could help the military as it faces economic inflation.
This the second year the AFDP budget was cut in response to an IMF demand. The FY21-22 budget was cut from 340 billion rupees to 270 rupees.
Defense News asked the Ministry of Defence Production, which handles defense equipment development and procurement, how the latest funding decrease would affect AFDP, but the ministry did not respond by press time.
“It is unlikely that this will have a drastic impact on Pakistan’s overall defense preparedness, and it certainly will not affect nuclear weapons,” Cloughley said. “There will be visible and publicized shelving of some programs, and no doubt military staffs are working hard to determine and recommend action in areas that will have minimal effects on strategic plans.”
Defense economics analyst Fida Muhammad Khan of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics think tank, thinks the Air Force’s modernization plans could be vulnerable, while the larger Army wields enough influence to escape major damage.
“The Air Force has to stay up to date, fleets need to be battle-ready, and that has a high price,” he said. “These cuts will impact the JF-17 [fighter jet] program, [Pakistan Aeronautical Complex] projects and many more sophisticated weapon programs.”
“Maintaining one jet requires more resources than equipping infantrymen,” he added, noting that modern aerial combat is essentially “fought beyond visual range” and therefore expensive.
Instead of targeting the AFDP fund, he said, the government should after “revisisted” its Public Sector Development Program, meant to encourage private investment by promoting skills among the labor force and improving infrastructure.
With what’s essentially a tax break on high-end tobacco products, done by raising the tax rate band, the government is set to lose out on billions of rupees that were expected to boost revenue from the industry — from 150 billion rupees to 225 billion rupees.
Nevertheless, Khan said, the military’s needs will be met.
“There is no question or doubt about that. So this is a cut that can be tolerated for once.”

Pakistan slashes military modernization fund by 20%

The move helps meet a demand by the International Monetary Fund that the country achieve a primary budget surplus of 153 billion rupees, or 0.2% of the national output for the new financial year in order to revive an IMF bailout package.

www.yahoo.com

 

[Super Falcon]

Without proper economic system armed forces can't do anything our forces never thought that keep changing govt no economic reforms

 

[araz]

I would rather work a small job than work in a institution which works against the people they are suppose to defend and the country they took an oath to protect.

Let your reason guide you not your hate! The actions of a few do not reflect upon the efforts of many who give their lives to keep us all safe. So do not demean the effort of the majority for the disservice of a few.
More than ever I now feelthis whole unsavoury episode needs to be dissected and fully investigated to uncover what happened.
A

 

[JamD]

So there's two issues here.

One issue is salaries and most importantly pensions - both civilian and military. This is a direct function of our faltering economy that is unable to produce jobs and thus the government takes the easy route of handing out government jobs. You don't need to be an expert to see why this is unsustainable and really bad.

The other issue is the shrinking size of the economic pie. The military (and judiciary and politicians) has been able to keep its perks and privileges by being more and more extractive of the poor population in the name of national security. So they have had no real incentive to do anything about the shrinking pie because for them life has gone on as usual. Now maybe there is maybe some realization that life will not go on as usual for long with Pakistan's unprecedented bad economy. This is is evident from the national security policy that came out. But I don't know how much of that has actually sunk into the institutions. My hope is that this realization comes before we go bankrupt and not after it.




On a tangent: The relationship of Pakistan's elite and the land is really messed up. The whole idea of generals and judges retiring with large swaths of land is a relic of the British Raj, which essentially makes them zameendars. If our system turns all of our elite into zameendars why would anything be done to rationalize land reforms? Those that don't become zameendars become Bahria town employees and what not. Our obsession with zameen is really toxic.

 

[Rafael]

So there's two issues here.

One issue is salaries and most importantly pensions - both civilian and military. This is a direct function of our faltering economy that is unable to produce jobs and thus the government takes the easy route of handing out government jobs. You don't need to be an expert to see why this is unsustainable and really bad.

The other issue is the shrinking size of the economic pie. The military (and judiciary and politicians) has been able to keep its perks and privileges by being more and more extractive of the poor population in the name of national security. So they have had no real incentive to do anything about the shrinking pie because for them life has gone on as usual. Now maybe there is maybe some realization that life will not go on as usual for long with Pakistan's unprecedented bad economy. This is is evident from the national security policy that came out. But I don't know how much of that has actually sunk into the institutions. My hope is that this realization comes before we go bankrupt and not after it.




On a tangent: The relationship of Pakistan's elite and the land is really messed up. The whole idea of generals and judges retiring with large swaths of land is a relic of the British Raj, which essentially makes them zameendars. If our system turns all of our elite into zameendars why would anything be done to rationalize land reforms? Those that don't become zameendars become Bahria town employees and what not. Our obsession with zameen is really toxic.

That security policy is no more than a piece of paper at this point of time. All that was agreed between stake holders was thrown out by you know who.

Good luck with following ANY security / economic/ diplomatic policy henceforth.

@kursed

 

[JamD]

That security policy is no more than a piece of paper at this point of time. All that was agreed between stake holders was thrown out by you know who.

Good luck with following ANY security / economic/ diplomatic policy henceforth.

@kursed

Yeah I know but I'm just hoping that since it was pushed by the military, they might be thinking that way regardless of the political situation in the country and which politicians are in charge. But yeah I'm not blind to the possibility of what you've said either.

 

[araz]

Every soldier who wear a uniform and salute to those work against the Interest of Pakistan is wrong, if any of the subedaar , Captain , sepoy , major or any low rank Army personnel have an iota of shame and dignity they would resign or at least refuse to follow orders or salute to traitors.

Wrong! This is YOUR interpretation of what has gone wrong! This is without any judicial oversight or journalistic/ judicial research and investigation. You are assigning guilt without initiating investigations.
Look, I am equally disgusted with what has gone wrong and want to see the perpetrators brought out into the public and IF CULPABLE, PUNISHED. However, firstly this needs to be investigated fully and impartially before you can assign blame. Secondly, the investigations need to assign blame on people backed by solid proof.
From the military perspective a senior remains a senior and needs to be saluted as per protocol. This is the discipline which needs to be maintained to achieve the ends the army needs its juniors to achieve. Otherwise, imagine a Hawaldar saying on the battle front in the midst of a war, " I do not agree with this decision therefore I will not carry it out". This will create chaos within the ranks and file.
Again firstly investigate fully then if culpable assign blame and punish. But do not turn into judge, jury and executioner as that is transgression of your own abilities and unfair on the accused. Similarly if you want to protest, do so against the action but do not assign an action to someone without investigations and blame it on them.
A

 

[YaqoobAlam]

I wonder, with the current state of economy and public support if a conventional war breaks out, how long would we be able to put up a fight.