Pakistan army cuts farcical The Statesman 11 Jun 19
Pakistan army cuts farcical 11 Jun 19
Pakistan is clearly not a democracy. The government has no power over its armed forces. The army determines its own financial needs and the government complies. It has no options. This is the only country where the education budget is Rs 111.23 billion and the military budget is Rs 1.26 trillion. Such a skewed budget which impinges development and education for the power of the military can only happen in Pakistan. In such a country, other than Madrassa education and high levels of illiteracy, what else can be expected.
The unilateral announcement on reducing the defence share of the national budget for this financial year, appearing to indicate that the Pak army was doing the nation a great favour, was made by the Pakistan military spokesperson, General Asif Ghafoor, and not by either their defence or finance minister. Welcoming of the same by the Pakistan PM, Imran Khan, added to the joke. In his remarks he stated, ‘I appreciate Pak military’s unprecedented voluntary initiative of stringent cuts in their defence expenditure for next financial year because of our critical financial situation, despite multiple security challenges.’
Clearly, the Pak PM was thanking their army chief, rather than demanding the cut for national good. His mention of multiple threats is also a joke. The threat from India is only because of Pak sponsoring terrorists and firing to support their infiltration. This can be easily comprehended by the fact that unless Pak violates the ceasefire, India does not act. Reducing tensions is in their hands, as the US announced over the weekend.
The day they stop this policy then Indian threats would reduce, leading to a permanent reduction of defence budgets on both sides, enabling concentration on development. This may happen in India, but it is unlikely that the Pak army would ever adopt a path to peace as it could impinge on their power and authority over the country.
The current poor financial situation in Pak is not the fault of previous governments alone, but the high demands of the Pak army in its share of the national kitty, ignoring other spheres of development. Pak has been spending 4% of its total GDP on defence, while India’s current defence budget is 1.44% of its GDP. Indian armed forces though always demanding 3% would be more than happy with 2% of the GDP. This despite India facing far more threats than Pak.
The other threats which Pak faces are its own creations.
In its western provinces, its threats are internal due to its own policies of treating non-Punjabi’s and border residents as second-class citizens. Its support to the Taliban has ensured that low-level tensions would remain from the weakly equipped Afghan army. On no other border does Pak require employment of air power and artillery, other than India. Their use of the same against their own innocents in Baluchistan, KP and Wazirabad is an indicator of their own brutality.
It is evident that this forced budget cut is neither voluntary nor genuine. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) maintains a sharp eye on the utilization of loans which it provides. Despite a staff level agreement reached between Pakistan and the IMF, the loan is some distance away. The IMF would closely monitor this budget and unless there are strong financial cuts, the loan may end up as a bad dream. Monitoring by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) continues whether Pak should remain on the Grey List or be Blacklisted.
Thus, the Pak government is forced to act. The army seeking to gain national sympathy and playing into the demands of the IMF has announced a voluntary cut. Their final announcement on the cut mentioned no change from the previous year. The impact would only be inflation. Surprisingly, in a nation where the average annual income is meagre and population just manages to survive, the army obtains a 16-20% raise every year. Their spokesperson stated that the voluntary cut implies officers would not get their yearly raise, while all others would.
A clear example of inflated salaries is that that the Pak army officers’ children study abroad, which is way beyond the financial capability of 99.9% of Pakistanis. While judges and politicians are charged for illegal properties and unaccounted wealth stashed abroad, there is no power in Pak to check its senior army officers on the same. On the contrary, they are allocated land either free or on token payment in prominent localities.
In fact, since the Pakistan Fauji Foundation, run by the army, controls almost 25-30% of the Pak economy, it should have volunteered to surrender its complete profits for the year to the government, rather than distribute the same amongst its top brass. This itself would have been a financial boon to a beleaguered nation, but which government can bell the cat.
Most of Pak’s nefarious activities are funded by the ISI. Its funds would never flow from its defence budget, but from clandestine funding from the national budget under multiple heads. There would be no let up on this account and hence, support to terrorist activities, whether against India, Iran or Afghanistan would continue unhindered.
Most procurements for the Pak army come from China either free or on reduced costs. For China, Indo-Pak rivalry is a benefit as it divides Indian attention and forces it to develop capabilities for both fronts. It has been behind all Pak capability developments, including its nuclear weapons and missiles. This is unlikely to stop, especially as tensions rise in Baluchistan, where the CPEC continues to be under threat.
In summary, the announcement by the Pak army on reducing its defence budget is nothing more than a publicity gimmick. Officially, there would only be an inflationary cut, or the IMF loan would remain a pipedream. The threats over which it claims its high budget is its own doing and can be curtailed whenever it desires. However, enmity with India gives the Pak army its power, which it is unlikely to let go.
About the Author
Maj Gen Harsha Kakkar
Retired Major General Indian Army