ISLAMABAD, Oct 31: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Monday categorically stated there would be no cut in the country’s defence budget in the aftermath of the Oct 8 earthquake but clearly indicated that the government would buy fewer F-16 fighter jets from the US.

He was responding to questions at a press conference at his camp office in Rawalpindi on Monday afternoon.

When asked if the government was contemplating a cut in the defence budget given that billions of dollars were required for relief and reconstruction work, he said: “No, we are not at all contemplating any defence cut.”

“There is a security requirement which is separate and there is an earthquake requirement which is totally separate,” he argued. Continuing on the subject, the president emphatically said: “We don’t want to do one and jeopardise the other. This would be most unwise.” He added: “We carry on with defence and we will carry on with the earthquake (efforts) also.”

In response to another question, the president did say that budgetary cuts would have to be considered if sufficient funds were not raised at the national and international level for relief and reconstruction activities. Resuming the press conference after the iftar break, the president revisited the question pertaining to the defence budget and pointed out that defence expenditure of Pakistan did not consume a major chunk of the revenues and was in fact only the fourth largest expense head.

Giving a broad breakdown of the expenditure he said: “I hope this audience knows that the biggest expenditure of Pakistan is the establishment cost which is about 30 to 33 per cent, number two is debt servicing which is about 33 per cent and the third is Public Sector Development Programme which is 17.8 or 17.6 per cent, fourth is defence which 17.1 per cent or something.”

He underlined: “Defence is our security concern, please understand where the money goes.”—Q.A.