{"id":11406,"date":"2026-08-12T04:47:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T04:47:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=11406"},"modified":"2026-08-12T04:47:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T04:47:20","slug":"pakistan-military-spending-oversight-why-us-is-questioning-pakistans-rs-3-trillion-defence-spending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=11406","title":{"rendered":"Pakistan Military Spending Oversight: Why US is questioning Pakistan&#8217;s Rs 3 trillion defence spending"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-133169961,imgsize-99356,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/pakistan-budget.jpg\" alt=\"Why US is questioning Pakistan's Rs 3 trillion defence spending\" title=\"The US also criticised Islamabad for not publishing its executive budget proposal within a reasonable period (representative image)\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"The US also criticised Islamabad for not publishing its executive budget proposal within a reasonable period (representative image)\">The US also criticised Islamabad for not publishing its executive budget proposal within a reasonable period (representative image)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The US state department has flagged a lack of adequate parliamentary and civilian oversight of Pakistan&#8217;s military and intelligence spending, while also raising concerns over limited disclosure of government debt and delays in publishing the executive budget proposal.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"2\"\/>The concerns were highlighted in the 2026 Fiscal Transparency Report, which assessed Pakistan&#8217;s public financial transparency and identified gaps in the country&#8217;s budgetary and fiscal disclosure practices.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/>The report noted that Pakistan made its enacted budget and end-of-year financial statements widely available online. However, it said military and intelligence budgets remained outside adequate parliamentary or civilian public scrutiny.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"8\"\/>\u201cThe military and intelligence budgets were not subject to adequate parliamentary or civilian public oversight,\u201d the report said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"10\"\/>The US also criticised Islamabad for not publishing its executive budget proposal within a reasonable period.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"12\"\/>According to the assessment, this limits the time available for lawmakers and civil society to examine government spending before the budget is adopted.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"14\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2><b>US asks Pakistan to improve defence and debt transparency<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"16\"\/>The state department called for three key changes to Pakistan&#8217;s fiscal transparency framework.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"19\"\/>It urged Islamabad to make its executive budget proposal publicly available within a reasonable period, disclose detailed information about government debt obligations, including liabilities linked to state-owned enterprises, and bring military and intelligence agency budgets under parliamentary or civilian public oversight.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"21\"\/>The report also raised concerns about Pakistan&#8217;s disclosure of public debt, saying only limited information was available on debt obligations, including those of major state-owned enterprises.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"24\"\/>At the same time, the US assessment acknowledged some positive aspects of Pakistan&#8217;s public financial system.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"26\"\/>It said the country&#8217;s supreme audit institution met international standards of independence and noted that its audit reports were published in a timely manner and contained substantive findings.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"28\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2><b>Pakistan&#8217;s defence allocation rises to Rs 3 trillion<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"30\"\/>The US assessment comes against the backdrop of a substantial increase in Pakistan&#8217;s defence allocation for the 2026-27 financial year.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"33\"\/>In June, Pakistan&#8217;s federal government proposed allocating Rs 3 trillion for defence services, up 17.65 per cent from the previous year&#8217;s initial allocation of Rs 2.55 trillion, according to Dawn.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"35\"\/>The proposed defence services allocation amounts to about 2.08 per cent of Pakistan&#8217;s projected GDP of Rs 143.6 trillion and nearly 16 per cent of the federal government&#8217;s total outlay of Rs 18.77 trillion.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"37\"\/>Spending on civil works related to military infrastructure was projected to rise 7.92 per cent to Rs 363.16 billion, from Rs 336.49 billion previously.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"40\"\/>Military pensions are accounted for separately from the main defence services budget. The government has allocated Rs 822 billion for retired military personnel under the federal pension outlay, according to Dawn.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"42\"\/>The allocation for defence administration was set at Rs 10.9 billion, compared with Rs 7.9 billion in the outgoing fiscal year&#8217;s original budget. That allocation was later revised to Rs 11.75 billion.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"45\"\/>Major military imports and defence acquisitions are generally funded outside the main defence services allocation and remain undisclosed.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"47\"\/>The US state department&#8217;s assessment therefore highlights a distinction between Pakistan&#8217;s publicly disclosed defence allocation and the wider military spending that may not be fully visible through the country&#8217;s budgetary documents.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"50\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2><b>Defence spending remains a key transparency concern<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"52\"\/>The state department&#8217;s recommendations focus on bringing military and intelligence expenditure into the broader framework of public financial oversight.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"55\"\/>While the report recognised that Pakistan publishes key budget documents, it identified defence and intelligence spending, debt disclosure and the timing of budget publication as areas requiring greater transparency.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"57\"\/>The recommendations would require Pakistan to give lawmakers and the public greater visibility into military and intelligence allocations, as well as government liabilities linked to state-owned enterprises.<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/world\/us\/why-us-is-questioning-pakistans-rs-3-trillion-defence-spending\/articleshow\/133169743.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The US also criticised Islamabad for not publishing its executive budget proposal within a reasonable period (representative image) The US state department has flagged a lack of adequate parliamentary and civilian oversight of Pakistan&#8217;s military and intelligence spending, while also raising concerns over limited disclosure of government debt and delays in publishing the executive budget 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US also criticised Islamabad for not publishing its executive budget proposal within a reasonable period (representative image) The US state department has flagged a lack of adequate parliamentary and civilian oversight of Pakistan&#8217;s military and intelligence spending, while also raising concerns over limited disclosure of government debt and delays in publishing the executive budget [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 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