Pakistan's Skewed Priorities: Environment, Health Budget Slashed, Defence Hiked By Record 20%

News18

a day ago

While Pakistan's defence budget saw an increase of over 20 per cent to 2,550 billion PKR, the environment protection budget has shrunk from 7.2 billion PKR to 3.1 billion PKR.
Pakistan has halved its environment budget and heavily slashed its health budget while granting a record 20 per cent hike to its defence budget, revealing the skewed priorities of the Shehbaz Sharif government. The budget was presented in the National Assembly on Tuesday.
The budget documents reveal that while the defence budget saw an increase of over 20 per cent to 2,550 billion PKR, the environment protection budget has shrunk from 7.2 billion PKR to 3.1 billion PKR. Another crucial area, health, has seen a drastic reduction from last year's revised budget of 52.1 billion PKR to 31.9 billion PKR.
This defence spending represents the highest annual increase in over a decade. At 2,550 billion PKR, the defence budget now accounts for nearly 2 per cent of Pakistan's GDP, an increase from the previous year. Defence will account for almost 15% of the total federal outlay, also a new high.
In his budget speech, Pakistan's finance minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, stated that the country's security situation was precarious and commended the armed forces for protecting the borders. The substantial increase in defence spending covers operational and infrastructure expenses, suggesting efforts to repair the damage caused by India's Operation Sindoor at its air bases.
The Pakistan Army has received nearly 45 per cent of the defence budget, while the Air Force and the ISI each received almost 20 per cent.
Meanwhile, the reduced environment budget signifies a serious setback for Pakistan's pollution abatement efforts, with the allocation more than halved from 6.3 billion PKR to 2.1 billion PKR. This is despite Lahore ranking as one of the world's most polluted cities last year.
The country's overall economic health has also been a growing concern. According to the latest Economic Survey, Pakistan's public debt reached a record high of 76,007 billion PKR, nearly doubling over the past four years. Just five years ago, Pakistan's debt stood at 39,860 billion PKR. A decade ago, Pakistan's public debt was a mere 17,380 billion PKR — indicating an almost five-fold increase in the past 10 years.
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