Govt approves another Rs 35bn for defence

[Neo]

Govt approves another Rs 35bn for defence

Daily Times Monitor

LAHORE: The government has approved an additional Rs 35 billion for the defence budget, a private TV channel reported on Friday.

According to the channel, after Friday’s decision, the defence budget had reached a total of Rs 378 billion. The channel quoted sources as saying that the additional defence spending was approved to meet expenditures on the military operations in Swat, Malakand and South Waziristan.

In recent meetings with the president and prime minister, the military’s top brass – including Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Tariq Majeed – had conveyed the military’s demand of a budget increase.

Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor’s statement about India’s readiness to go to war against Pakistan and China was also a contributing factor in the defence budget increase. The Defence Ministry would buy modern technology to enhance the military’s defence capability, the channel reported.