Pakistan on its knees for debt, also reduced the budget of the army to accept the condition of IMF; 20% cut
The economic plight of Pakistan is increasing continuously and now its effect is also visible on its army. A condition was also put under the loan given to him by the IMF that he has to create a budget surplus situation in the new financial year. To meet this condition, Pakistan had to cut its military budget. In the budget presented in the National Assembly on June 10, it was announced to spend Rs 363 billion on the army. But now this amount has been reduced to only Rs 291 billion. In this way, Pakistan has cut the budget of its army by up to 20 percent.
The Finance Ministry of Pakistan has shared this information after the Parliament approved the revised budget. Under the revised budget, Pakistan has reduced the amount allocated for the army by Rs 72 billion, or about 20 percent. This allocation was over and above the regular defense budget. This is the second time in the last few years that Pakistan has had to cut down on its defense programmes. This has to be done under the financial crisis and the conditions set by the IMF. Earlier last year, a budget of Rs 340 billion was allocated for the army by the government, but only Rs 270 billion was spent.
According to the report of Pakistani newspaper The Tribune, officials of the Finance Ministry say that this reduction has been done so that the target set by the IMF can be achieved. The government has set a target that the primary budget surplus in this financial year should be Rs 153 billion. Earlier, due to the conditions of the International Monetary Fund, Pakistan had increased the prices of petrol and diesel by up to Rs 35 in a lump sum. This decision has been criticized a lot by the common people and former Pak PM Imran Khan is also constantly attacking Shahbaz Sharif.
IMF has also advised to crack down on corruption
Pakistan has also been advised by the International Monetary Fund to crack down on corruption. The IMF says that Pakistan will have to review its anti-corruption laws and make them stricter. It has advised that Pakistan should make laws after consulting international experts so that corruption can be curbed.
