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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Pakistan
Index
Faced with the problem of defense against a much larger
enemy
from a relatively weak resource base, the military must
lay claim
to a disproportionate share of the nation's resources even
to
maintain a minimally effective defensive capability. The
military
was fortunate in that successive governments--with the
exception
of the early Bhutto years--believed it necessary to
support the
armed services as much as possible. This attitude also
persisted
among the public at large, who accepted the danger from
India as
real and present.
From 1958 until 1973, the published defense budget
accounted
for between 50 and 60 percent of total government
expenditures.
After that time, the proportions were much lower, falling
to 40
and even 30 percent levels and ranging between 5 and 7
percent of
GNP. At the same time, however, because of an expanding
economy,
actual expenditures--even allowing for inflation--showed
considerable increases. The defense budget for fiscal year
(FY-- see Glossary)
1993 was set at Rs94 billion (for value of
the
rupee--see Glossary),
or US$3.3 billion, which represented
27
percent of government spending and almost 9 percent of the
gross domestic product
(GDP--see Glossary).
The published budget
understated expenditures by excluding procurement and
defense-related research and development as well as funds spent on
such activities as intelligence and the nuclear program.
(Wirsing 94; Rizvi 124,205,244; Janes; SIPRI)
Data as of April 1994
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