Economists point out myths and facts about Pakistan's defence budget.

LAHORE -- Leading economists of Pakistan have pointed out a number of myths and facts about Pakistan's defence budget.

Farrukh Saleem, an economist and financial analyst, said that the first myth is that the defence budget eats up the lion's share of the country's total budgetary expenses.

'In budget 2020-21, 'Defence Affairs and Services' has been allocated Rs1,289 billion out of the total budgetary expenses of Rs7,295 billion. What this means is that defence comprises 17.67 per cent of the total expenses and 82.33 per cent of all government expenses are non-defence related,' he explained.

He said that the second myth is that of the total defence budget, Pakistan Army takes away the lion's share. 'Pakistan Army gets Rs613 billion (47.6 per cent), Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Rs274 billion (21 per cent), Pakistan Navy Rs140 billion (11 per cent) and Inter-Services Rs262 billion (20 per cent),' he added.

Saleem said that the third myth is Pakistan's defence budget has been increasing at a high rate. In the 70s, the allocation for defence amounted to 6.50 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), he added.

He stated that in the financial year 2001-02, 20 years ago, the allocation for defence amounted 4.6 per cent of the GDP, whereas budget 2020-21 has allocated Rs1,289 billion which is 2.86 per cent of GDP.

'In the 60s, Pakistan Army's budget as a percentage of total expenditures hovered around 30 per cent. In budget 2020-21, Pakistan Army's budget as a percentage of total expenditures has come down to 8 per cent,' Saleem said.

He stated that the fourth myth is that Pakistan has a large military. 'There are at least 64 countries in the world who have more military personnel on a per capita basis than does Pakistan,' he said.

These countries, he added, include Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Switzerland, Italy, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Russia, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Libya, Kuwait, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Israel, Estonia, Vietnam, Slovenia, Botswana, Mongolia, Yemen, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Mauritania, Croatia, Chile, Somalia, Albania, Sao tome and Principe, Namibia, Angola, Cambodia, Uruguay, Bolivia, Romania, Morocco, Lithuania, Portugal, Burma, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Burundi, Bulgaria, Columbia, Serbia and Montenegro, Cyprus, Greece, Armenia, Djibouti, Maldives, Oman, Belarus, Jordan, Syria, Laos, Bahrain, Brunei, Eretria and North Korea.

He pointed out the fifth myth is that Pakistan's military expenditures are the highest in the world on...