Islamabad:
Pakistan defence ministry has sought more allocation for its armed forces for acquisition and mobilisation of new weapon system, ahead of the next budget that will be announced in the first week of June.
The demand comes at a critical time when government is trying to direct more money towards infrastructure development and deal with the crippling energy shortages.
Additional secretary of the ministry Air Vice Marshal Arshad Qudoos told a media briefing on defence budget arranged by the Senate Committee on Defence on Monday that more money was needed for "acquisition and mobilisation of new weapon system", Dawn reported.
The additional secretary said about 43 per cent of the defence budget had been spent on employees-related expenses, 26 per cent on operations and 10 per cent on civil works.
The remaining 21 per cent went to servicing and maintenance of equipment. It was already expected that the government will increase the defence budget due to prevailing law and order situation but the ministry's plea for buying weapons would force extra allocations.
Qudoos said Pakistan's USD 6.27 billion defence spending was much less than the regional countries including India. The chairman of the Senate committee Mushahid Hussain called for "openness" in defence spending. "People deserve to know how the defence budget is prepared and utilised," he said.