Pakistan raises arms budget

Pakistan has unveiled Rs5.66 trillion federal budget that set 6.2 per cent gross domestic target for 2018-19 with primary focus on economic stability, infrastructure development and social sector uplift.
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Miftah Ismail announced a 10 per cent increase in defence spending as part of a new federal budget as opposition politicians criticised his appointment to the post just hours earlier.
The election-year budget, 6th consecutive by outgoing Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, was presented by Ismail in the National Assembly, who took oath as finance minister on Friday, hours before presenting the finance bill for new financial year, starting in July 2018.
The defence budget has been set at Rs1.1 trillion from a revised budget estimate of Rs999b in the previous year — 18.5 per cent of the total budgeted outlay, and a 19.5% increase over the budgeted amount for last year. Rs138b were allocated for power and energy sector.