By Usman ANSARI
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s new defense budget increases funding for the Army and Air Force and slightly decreases it for the Navy, but challenging economic conditions put near-term procurements in doubt.
The fiscal 2012-2013 defense budget, in current U.S. dollars, allocates $2.8 billion to the Army, an increase of $128 million; $1.2 billion for the Air Force, an increase of $64 million; and $562 million to the Navy, a $1.4 million decrease from the previous year.
The defense budget does not, however, usually include procurement funding and is comprised mainly of wages and running costs with increases fueled by ongoing counterinsurgency efforts.
Analyst and former fighter pilot Kaiser Tufail expects no new procurements in the near future.
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