ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday reaffirmed its commitment to providing all needed resources to the armed forces for national security.

This was stated in a statement by the finance ministry after Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar visited the General Headquarters for talks with Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa on the army’s requirements for the next fiscal year’s budget.

“The financial requirements of the Pakistan Army were discussed during the meeting, in the context of the budget for next financial year 2017-18. The ongoing development projects of the army as well as the future development plans were discussed in detail,” the statement said.

The defence allocation for the current financial year 2016-17 is Rs860 billion. The defence budget has grown consistently over the past five years by around 11 per cent per annum except for 2013-14, the first year of the current government, when it spiked up by 15pc.

The army usually gets the biggest share from the defence budget. Its requirements will grow because of the newly launched Operation Raddul Fasad.

Last week, the government had opened consultations on the defence budget with Mr Dar’s visit to Joint Staff Headquarters, where he met Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of the Staff Committee (CJCSC) Gen Zubair Mahmood Hayat and Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman.

The finance minister’s consultations with the top leadership of armed forces are a routine and precede work on preparation of the defence budget.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2017