Pakistan to boost defense spending after military showdown with India
Addressing the lower house of parliament, Pakistani Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said the defense budget would rise by almost 20 percent, to $9 billion. It would be one of the largest increases in decades and will require the government to slash subsidies and other spending.
Defense should be prioritized, Aurangzeb told lawmakers, to meet what he called a 'historic moment.' Pakistan's parliament still needs to approve the budget, but the vote is viewed by analysts as a formality.
Pakistani officials said they have been offered a range of new military equipment by China — their chief international backer — including fighter jets, missile defense systems and high-tech monitoring aircraft.
During the hostilities last month, India struck targets deep inside Pakistan, raising questions about the effectiveness of the country's air defenses. Among the sites hit was an air base in Rawalpindi, where the military is headquartered.
Pakistan's defense budget will still be much smaller than that of its more powerful neighbor: India allocates around $80 billion for military spending and is debating a further increase.
'There is a staggering asymmetry in defence economics between India and Pakistan,' wrote political scientist Farrukh Saleem in the News International, a Pakistani newspaper.
But in May's aerial combat, 'efficiency trumped extravagance,' he wrote, echoing a widespread sentiment in Pakistan that the country had emerged victorious.
Pakistan claimed to have downed at least five Indian warplanes; a Post analysis found at least two French-made fighter jets appeared to have crashed. India recently acknowledged the loss of aircraft but did not provide a number.
Officials in Islamabad see the Indian losses as proof that their cheaper Chinese equipment can hold its own against Western technology.
Unlike past deals to purchase F-16 fighter jets from the United States, 'Pakistan's defense partnership with China features flexibility and it ranges from direct payments to deferred ones, to strategic gifting,' Pakistani military analyst Hasan Askari Rizvi said.
That flexibility is key for Pakistan, which is still recovering from one of its worst economic crises in decades. As inflation soared to record levels in 2023, officials were forced to seek another bailout from the International Monetary Fund, which is still in the process of being released.
Rizvi said the increase in defense spending is unlikely to draw domestic criticism, even if it necessitates painful cuts. 'National survival has always overridden the financial debate,' he said.
The budget proposed Tuesday reduces total spending by around seven percent. Miftah Ismail, a former Pakistani finance minister, said the government should do its part by slashing 'excessive' salaries of civil servant and elected officials.
'Modernizing our armed forces is essential,' he said. 'But the key is spending wisely.'
In a speech Tuesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif acknowledged 'the sacrifices the common man has made.'
Many in the country now ask what 'the wealthy groups have contributed,' Sharif said, adding: 'This is a question that the elite, including me, have to answer.'
Noack reported from Paris.
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The courier will also close a facility in Wilmington, N.C. on Sept. 23. Despite the planned layoffs and consolidation, Tomé said in the call that attrition rate was lower than anticipated in the first half. Nando Cesarone, president of the U.S. region at UPS, said in the call that 'thousands of drivers' are entertaining the buyout package. Buyout applicants will be considered for separation dates between Aug. 31 and Oct. 31, depending on the local needs, UPS said, while some may be considered dates between Feb. 1 and March 31. The Teamsters have largely panned the buyouts on social media, claiming that the pay is too low and urging union members not to take the severance offering. As the Teamsters employees rail against the UPS buyouts, nearly 10,500 employees at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) accepted a voluntary early retirement offer, fulfilling a cost-cutting endeavor set earlier this year. At USPS, employees that worked as mail handlers, clerks, motor vehicle service professionals, maintenance and IT professionals are set to receive a $15,000 payout. Those separations went into effect April 30. The total buyouts surpassed initial goals set in March, when the USPS committed to reducing its headcount by 10,000 in collaboration with the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the General Services Administration. The Postal Service incurred a $3.1 billion net loss in the third quarter, the final quarter before new Postmaster General David Steiner assumed the role. The agency has sought to cut costs after bleeding billions in cash in recent years, leading to the buyouts. Sign in to access your portfolio
