Civilian budget be revamped: Army

[sonicboom]

Civilian budget be revamped: Army

Published: March 14, 2011


ISLAMABAD (Online) - Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major-General Athar Abbas has said that the usage of funds in civilian departments should be streamlined instead of objecting to the defence budget.

Talking to a private TV channel, the ISPR DG said that the Army performs its duties as per the government’s policy. He said that ascertaining the size of the Army is also the government’s job. “The Army has to prepare itself according to defence capabilities of the enemy. No army in the world can disclose its development budget to the public,” he said.

“If the civilian government considers that they could diminish the perils through negotiations with India, then a reduction in the Army could take place,” he added.

General Athar said that several agencies from some hostile countries have been striving to create a gap with between the Army and the public. “Anti-Pakistan elements are trying to prove that the Army is a burden on the national development by criticizing the armed forces.”

He said that under well-planned conspiracies, misleading propaganda is being proliferated about the expenses of the Pakistan Army. “The conspirators are saying that the funds related to defence could be used for prosperity of the country,” he said. “Apart form all plots against the Army, I would like to say that forces always perform their duties within the framework given by the sitting government,” he added.

The ISPR DG said that the budget of the defence forces consisted of two parts. “The portion regarding maintenance funds can be discussed at every forum, but the segment of the budget relating to development cannot be publicised as the enemy could get the idea which areas the development is going to take place, so this portion is always kept secret.”

The DG said that as for facts and figures, analysing the budget would reveal that the defence budget has decreased ratio-wise. “At present, the ratio of defence budget is 14 percent to the national budget. Some elements are creating the misunderstanding that defence takes 40 percent of the total budget.”

General Athar asked if the budget allocated to the civilian departments not misused. He said that the Army presented its report about the presence of thousands of ghost schools as well as fake teachers in Punjab and later regarding this it was said that the system has been corrected.

He said that Pakistan is allocating only $4 billion to defence whereas India’s defence budget is $36 billion. “We have to look at the capability of the enemy before designing our preparedness. We would have to see that what kinds of weapons it is making. Keeping in view all the facts, the defence budget as well as the armed forces’ ability is adjusted,” Athar added.


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