What a nonsense????.... every year government increases defense budget but result is in front of every one..... number of deaths of civilian and military men are increasing.... i do not on which defence this money goes...... i think it is better to give this money to terrorists for not attacking ordinary people

This is exactly how we have isolated Pakistan. With hardly any percentage going to the education and health sectors the country is deprived of much needed education and health.

Was the Army budget ever not increased in the history or Pakistan? Hello to few more DHAs and Askaris!

Rs. 700 Bn Defence budget means more staff cars to take 'Bhabis' for shopping, more SUVs for ISI officers, More Corollas and Accord for Generals, more money spent on the 'Re-Decoration' of GOC houses every time a new ones comes in, more plots in DHAs for senior officers etc. All this time the ordinary public will keep dying in bomb blasts, street crimes, robberies and kidnapping for ransom. Well Done General Raheel and Mr. Ishaq Dar.

If this is so. we shouldn't expect anything new from the government, that means no progress, no new improvements in the old systems, it maybe health or education, security or anything else.

I guess the army wants to reward its generals with more prime real estate.....

Eliminate terrorism in all forms and we would not have to spend huge amounts on defense.

We do not learn from the past and the present. Ethopia of past and Tharparkar in today. We have nothing to eat (a basic need.) for living Food and Medicines. No education. So we create more uneducated (unprivileged) people means more law and order problems and that will lead to more budget for the same old cause.

And from this budget army would make fauji fertilizer, fauji flakes, housing societies and God knows what while the ordinary man suffers...

With the increase in military spending, I guess it will be fair for our people to assume that we will be protected from foreign and domestic enemies. Talibans will not be negotiated with - but defeated. Our people will be able to go to the place of worship, to educational institutions, for shopping, in public transit, restaurants, government buildings and anywhere else, without any fear of getting killed. After all, isn't this increase for our safety and security?

How many of us are true Tax payer whose money the Khakis are asking for? With 870000 tax payers out of 180 million probability of any one of the comment writer is .0005. Do we have right to criticize how the government and army splits the aids and loans coming in.

And where is this money going to come from? The wealthy(Nawaz tax's) aren't paying any tax's......Same old, same old. Nawaz has learned nothing from last 10years. Same old, friends of the elite enemy of the poor.

not learning... there is absolutely no justification for budget increase, the country leadership needs to focus on bringing up the plight of people, giving the better education health etc. The lifestyle these leaders of country enjoy make one feels how this country can progress...they ought to set example of leading simple life, set examples for future leaders, it looks like anyone who has come into power has squeezed the resources of country to make them wealthier. it's time to live the life according to Sunnah and Al Quran which are our operating manuals. May Allah swt guide us and our leaders. Ameen.

No debate in National assembally or senate. No transparancy as to where this additional money will be spent? No procedure no process. Just one meeting of COAS with Dar. COAS demands money Dar gives it to him. Who are these men? There is no hope. I give up.

The former president has doubled the salaries of the defence staff. The poor Pakistani nation can't afford this type of spending though we need to acknowledge that due to terrorism we need to spend more on defence. The spending should be directed to acquire new war technologies to equip the army better to fight internal and external safety treads instead of in non development expenses.

well finance minister could have refused the money to army...he didn't do that or he didn't have courage to do tht if he doesn't have courage then he should sit at home...so whose fault it is?. secondly, government should start collecting taxes its their job...thirdly money given would at least be spend for welfare of somebody...money with civilian gov. will surely be spent on cultural festivals.

Legitimate demands for the defence of the country must be met. Monet can always be found when there is political will.

I agree there should be proper scruitny of the additional funds demanded, at the same time we should also make the army more lean, trim at the top invest more on the lower ranks, provide them with IED resitent vehicles and so on. We should rember from our history and not let our defences down, everyone knows what the result was whe the mongols were at the gates of Baghdad and the army was downsized.

@mansoor: We have a right to express our opinion! Just because we don't live in the Middle East, does not preclude us from expressing our disgust in how the Palestinians are living there or because we are not living in Ukraine, we cannot express our opinion about what is going on there. Pakistan is a poor country - they are spending millions of dollars on their military, and yet - there is nothing to show for. They cannot stop foreign or domestic enemies from hurting it's citizens and this is where the question arises - where is all this money going and if it going to pay these officers or for the machinery they are buying - then what are the officers paid for and where is the machinery used. It is a question that we all have a right to ask. Otherwise, you will see there will be no accountability and the country will be in a far worse shape than it currently is.

@Saad(DXB): Which staff cars? This us a true example of blind hatred towrds the military. Had you been fair, you must hve also critisized the civil servants each of whom is in posession of a 'staff car' since the day he is commissioned (grade 17), not to mention how these civil 'servent' use these vehicles to ge to btheir home towns as if it,s their private transport. Whereas an army officer has to earn his way up for like 22 years to get the priveldge. Brigadier (grade 21) is the first rank when a staff car is authorised to an army/navy/PAF officer.

@Commoner: DHAs and askaris are not paid out of defence budget. if you dont know the facts please dont spill your complexes and prejudices here. unless you are a commoner from across the border

The increase becomes more scary if you look in overall context. 20% increase mean their budget will surpass the Magic 1 T mark (T for trillion ), government borrowing has been increased means more interest payment. I cannot see the revenue base will grow by 20%, so out of say 2.8T close to 1 to 1.1 T probably will go to their (Army) kitty bank, similar kind of money will go to the interest whatever short change will be left a proportion of that will be spent on everything else including health and education. Dar has made a life easier for him, his work load will be significantly reduce, his budget will be very simple 75% gone to two items, he needs to worry only about the remaining 20-25% at most. We will be on our path to development with 600Billion totally available. Good job Minister