The Pakistani Spectator

For the first time in the history of Pakistan, the parliament would be debating on the one-line consolidated defense services budget, and this deviation from the past is a welcome step towards the future improvements and the better accounting and eventually better spending of the defense allocation.

It’s very nice and refreshing to see that the chiefs of all the services have given their endorsement (or shall we say approval?) for this change in the norm, and now at least this thing has started, though many are terming it as an eyewash, or a cosmetics fulfilling of a clause of Democracy Accord of London.

Right now in the given circumstances, the defense budget estimate of the three Services (Army, Navy and Air force), the ordnance factories and others is presented as a one-line allocation. It is not approved disparately but in a consolidated form for all defense Services. After approval of the budget, the Ministry of defense apportions the allocation to the three Services and other defense organizations respectively. The defense budget estimate has now been presented in the National Assembly in a format reflecting the estimated expenditure under the major heads.

Now at least civil society could boast that they now know where their generated revenue goes, which becomes defense budget allocation of Rs296 billion.  Pakistanis can give everything to their forces anytime. They have done it before and they are ready to do it again. Why they demand to know the budgetry details is that they are pained to see the lavish lifestyles, and the kowtowing in front of America in the name of war on terror. They want to see the lifestyle of their beloved soldiers improved and they want to see that their armed forces get state-of-the-art equipment and they want that such equipment be made indigenously.

Anything for the Army, but with the trust that it wouldn’t be used in the operations within the country.