Daily Times

Pakistan Army is fighting Two front war, it’s the new reality for our armed forces.Pakistan Army and security agencies eradicated the menace of terrorism in tough and hard circumstances. It is effort of the security and law enforcement agencies that government of Pakistan managed to establish its writ in war torn areas of the country.

We have paid a huge price to restore peace in the country. Military operations like Radd-ul-fasad and Zarb-Azab are the great achievements of our army as they have ended a terrible era of terrorism from the country. Pakistan army have rendered innumerable sacrifices in war against terrorism and foiled the nefarious designs of the enemy. Pakistan’s political and military leadership have complete consensus on security of the country.

At a whopping $717bn, the US’ defence budget is more than four times that of trailing China $177bn, while India trailing at $60.9bn atleast eight times more than Pakistan’s defence budget. Pakistan military with limited resources is fighting successfully on two fronts at its east and west borders, which for many nations is an inspirational lesson all together. US Armed forces spent trillions of dollars in Afghanistan and finally leaving after signing peace treaty with Taliban. Pakistan army is securing its western border by fencing its traditionally porous border with Afghanistan, leading to an improved security situation in the region. The military-led massive construction program, launched in mid-2017, is installing a pair of nearly 3-meter-high chicken wire fences, with a 2-meter gap between each one, and topped with barbed wire, along the nearly 2,600-kilometer border. Additionally, hundreds of new outposts and forts have been built or are under construction. The fence runs through rugged terrain and snow-capped mountains as high as 12,000 feet. The border security plan, officials estimate, will cost about $800 million.

Economically strained Pakistan’s military budget increased by 73% between 2009 and 2018, and by 11% between 2017 and 2019, according to a new report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). As per the SIPRI data, Pakistan is among the top 10 countries with the highest military burden. “A state’s military expenditure as a share of GDP – also known as the military burden – is the simplest measure of the relative economic burden the military places on that state,” the report explains. “Pakistan’s military burden in 2018 was 4.0 per cent of GDP , in 2020 budget it will be 5.0 per cent of GDP approximately- the highest level since 2004,” it states. “Six of the 10 countries with the highest military burden in the world in 2019 are in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia (8.9 per cent of GDP), Oman (8.6 per cent), Kuwait (5.4 per cent), Lebanon (5.0 per cent), Jordan (4.7 per cent) and Israel (4.9 per cent).”

Pakistan has 919,000 military personnel in total, out of which 637,000 are on active duty. Around 60% of Pakistan’s military forces are deployed near the eastern border with India and 30% on western border with Afghanistan

The strategic competition between India and Pakistan is evolving, with India outpacing Pakistan in conventional capabilities while Pakistan seeks to compete with nuclear capabilities. India’s economy is eight times larger than Pakistan’s, and may be 15 times larger in 2030. Absent reconciliation between India and Pakistan, how each state converts economic power into military strength will reflect longstanding grievances. India’s advantages are diminished by an ad hoc approach to defense budget management and other constraints. Pakistan cannot match India conventionally in the long term, and any attempt to do so will exhaust its economy. Responding to adverse defense spending trends with increased reliance on nuclear weapons, especially short-range weapons, may be a cost effective approach, but it is likely to diminish Pakistan’s national security.Pakistan has to invest more into conventional weapon systems in order to compete its arch rival India.

Pakistan has 919,000 military personnel in total, out of which 637,000 are on active duty. Around 60% of Pakistan’s military forces are deployed near the eastern border with India and 30% on western border with Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s armed forces are seeking a 20 percent increase in the salaries of their personnel for fiscal year 2020-21, with a Defense Ministry memorandum claiming this would cost Rs. 63.67 billion to cover all three services-the Air Force, the Army, and the Navy.

The memorandum, submitted to the Finance Division by the Defense Ministry, says that the Joint Staff Headquarters, in consultation with services headquarters, claims security personnel are feeling a salary crunch due to devaluation of the rupee and inflation in consumer goods and utility prices.

It noted that in the current financial year, 2019-20, the salary of officers up to the rank of brigadier (BPS 17-20) had increased by 5 percent. “10 percent ad hoc relief was awarded to JCOs/soldiers” of basic pay scale 1-16, it added.

However, it said, no increase was given to general officers (BPS 21-22), and the ad hoc relief granted to officers had resulted in them paying enhanced income tax from existing pay, thereby actually seeing their salary decreasing.

As these circumstances have affected the fiscal space and livelihood of armed forces personnel, says the Defense Ministry memo, an increase of pay “duly approved by Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee” has been sought. It says this can be accomplished by merging ad hoc relief allowances from 2016-2019 into the basic pay designated in 2017. “Thereafter, allowing increase in pay @20% of revised pay scales in financial year 2020-21.”

Last year, the military “voluntarily agreed” to cut its expenditures due to the “critical financial situation” facing the country, and skipped a routine increase in the annual defense budget. Set to last a year, this did not include pension for retired soldiers, which is covered by the federal government at a tune of Rs. 260 billion.

The army, however, clarified that the voluntary cuts in the defence budget for a year would not be at the cost of defence and security.

The argument that Pakistan spends a very high percentage of GDP on defence is no longer true. During the year 2018-19, the defence spending was 4% of GDP, which has been so, for many years. Also to note that the allocation for defence barely compensates for the rising inflation which has been sky rocketing in the previous years. The problem of inflation is further compounded with rise in GST which does not carry any special exemption for the defence forces; moreso, the prices of goods, commodities, and equipment are expected to go high in coming days.

The myth that allocation for defence is the single largest component in our budget is also not true. Earlier, for the year 2014-15, Rs. 1,325 billion have been kept for the debt servicing whereas the size of Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) is Rs 1,175 billion. This was also practiced during 2013-14 when the single largest allocation in budget wentto PSDP; the second largest to servicing the national debt.

Having a close look at the distribution of defence allocation within Pak Army, one understands that 64% went to the pay & allowances of the personnel, whereas 17% was allocated for rations, medicaL petroleum & lubricants, dairy Products, transportation, and miscellaneous. 10% was fixed for capital works, major I minor repairs, and utilities i.e. gas, electric and water etc, and 9% of the budget went to general stores & clothing, arms and ammunition.

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 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.

In real terms, Pakistan’s defence allocations remained more or less capped since early 2000-01 despite the traditional security challenges vis-a-vis India on the eastern front and the new unprecedented internal security threat in the form of the Al Qaeda-linked-and-inspired foreign and local militants, who want to bring down the state and see the armed forces as their number one enemy as it is the main obstacle that can thwart their designs.

Pakistan is currently facing multifarious threats and challenges to its security.War mongering and drumming is becoming more vociferous by the day. Pakistan’s security orientation is such that India is considered Pakistan’s biggest threat.

India is a larger country and has much greater economic clout than Pakistan. Hence, its military spending is spread over a larger GDP. This means that comparisons will result in farcical analysis and Indian outlay will remain much larger than that of Pakistan. The Indian economy is growing at a rapid rate of 7.3 percent. This has allowed it to become the sixth largest military spending country in the world. Pakistan, being threatened by Indian grandiose designs needs to guard itself by all available means. Threat perceptions form the basis of defense planning. The security hypothesis of Pakistan is India-centric. Pakistani defense forces look to the eastern border. Pakistan has to look after the international border (IB), Working Boundary (WB) and the Line of Control (LOC). Indian army commands are deployed versus a much smaller Pakistan army. With 5 out of 7 commands operationally deployed on the borders with Pakistan, Indian defense spending will exert pressure on Pakistan. Amelioration of defense systems at the disposal of fighting formations under the northern command, for instance, will definitely concern Pakistan. The apprehensions are valid if one goes by pure military logic.

Pakistan has to keep up with the conventional balance to maintain strategic parity. Much to the contrary popular belief about nuclear weapons, they do not rule war, and by no means have they displaced the use of conventional weapons. So, Pakistan has no option but to increase its budget to enable itself to tackle threats to its vital interests.

The writer is web editor of Daily Times