|
|
|
| April 17, 2003 | Thursday | Safar 14, 1424 |
India raised defence budget, US told
WASHINGTON, April 16: In a policy paper issued on Wednesday, the Pakistan embassy in Washington reminded US policy makers that India has increased its defence expenditure by 16.6 per cent in the budget for fiscal 2003-2004.
India has earmarked a total of Rs653 billion for the new fiscal year, compared to Rs560 billion allocated last year.
The increase represents a continuous trend of substantial increase in India’s military expenditure every year.
The embassy asserted that Pakistan had no intention of entering into an arms race with India. But Pakistan would maintain a credible deterrence and Pakistan’s principled stand on Kashmir would not change under threats of use of force.
“Pakistan has taken a number of measures to de-escalate tension. It is India’s turn now to reciprocate,” the embassy said.
In his budget speech, the Indian finance minister said that modernizing the Indian armed forces and equipping them with latest equipment was non-negotiable and “any additional requirement that may emerge on account of modernization needs of the three defence services will be fully met,” the embassy’s note says.
Previous year’s Indian defence budget represented a sharp increase of 28 per cent over the preceding year (from Rs470bn to Rs585bn).
In terms of long-term trend, Indian defence spending jumped from $7.53 bn in 1991 to 12.87bn in 2001. During the same period Pakistan’s allocation for defence had a negligible increase from $3.07bn to $3.15bn.
The embassy said that the sharp increase in the Indian defence budget represented deeper reorientation in its security policy with a greater accent on a more belligerent and hostile posture in the region, with serious negative implications for regional peace and security.
|
|
|
|
