Re: Parliament breaks taboo, debates defence budget
The defence budget
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Mir Jamilur Rahman
The budget is always good. This lesson we have been learning since the birth of Pakistan. Every government presents good budgets through exaggeration in the fixing of their targets of revenue, exports and social and economic development.
For instance, the new budget envisages a 25-percent increase in revenue in the next fiscal year. In the best of times we have never achieved even one-half of this percentage. The budget is hiding painful facts. Pakistan is suffering a serious shortage in energy production and it is affecting industrial output. Similarly, we have been hit badly by rising inflation. It will keep on increasing digit by digit unless the government tightens its belt and drastically reduces the allocations in non-development sectors.
There is one good thing to emerge from this budget. Prime Minister Gilani has decided that from now on defence budget estimates would be placed in the National Assembly for debate. This is a welcome departure from the norm and would lead to improved accounting and realistic allocations for defence. Parliamentary debate on defence expenditure would also create better understanding by the people of our security needs. Defence takes almost one-fourth of the total outlay of our budget. It is the civil society that generates revenues and which makes the defence allocation of Rs296 billion possible.
At present the budget estimate of the three Services, the ordnance factories and others is presented as a one-line allocation. It is not approved separately but in a consolidated form for all Defence Services. After approval of the budget, the Ministry of Defence apportions the allocation to the three Services and other defence organisations.
As decided by Prime Minister Gilani, the defence budget estimate has now been presented in the National Assembly in a format reflecting the estimated expenditure under major “heads.” Before taking this decision, Mr Gilani took Ministry of Defence and the chief of the army staff into confidence about his proposed change. It is heartening to note that both the Ministry of Defence and COAS fully endorsed the revised format of the Defence Services budget estimates.
In a policy statement Mr Gilani said that as a measure of Pakistan’s tangible display to seek peace with our neighbours, we have decided to freeze, actually reduce, the defence budget when seen in the context of inflation and the rupee-dollar parity. Mr Gilani expressed the hope of seeing a reciprocal gesture from India. Explaining his policy the prime minister declared that our defence is based on the strategy of minimum essential credible deterrence and that we will not enter any arms race.
There is no disagreement among people that the security of the country is of top priority. They have helped to build a creditable defence apparatus by sacrificing even their basic needs. Most of them do not get clean water. They lack sanitary facilities. Their healthcare problems are ignored. Their children cannot get into schools. Recently, the Sindh education minister revealed that nearly 7,000 public schools are not functioning because of lack of funds. It is the same story in the other provinces. The industry and commerce are shrinking because there is no electricity to run them. It means less revenue for the government. If this trend continued we would not be able to maintain even our minimum credible security.
Our budget essentially is prepared to provide annual relief to the ever-increasing government employees, including the retired. They have been given a 20 percent raise in their salaries and substantial increase in pension amounts. For the purpose of the salary raise members of Parliament are now treated as government servants. It means that whenever a raise is given to the government employees, the MNAs and Senators will also get the same raise automatically. In another budgetary proposal the former presidents of the country have been exempted from income-tax. The government is not expanding the income-tax base but rather shrinking it.
Mr Asif Zardari has felicitated the lawyers and their leaders for maintaining discipline and law and order throughout just ended the Long March. Zardari’s praise for the lawyers is well deserved considering that there was not a single incident of lawlessness during the entire march, not even a broken traffic light. The various processions first converged in Lahore then joined the main march to Islamabad. Many political parties also participated in the march. Undoubtedly, the Long March has proved that protests can be held non-violently. The government also deserves congratulations for facilitating the marchers.
The most favourite slogan of the marchers was “Go, Musharraf, go.” Suppose he listens to the people’s cries and leaves voluntarily. Who will take his place? Most probably, it will be Asif Ali Zardari, because he commands more votes in the than any other leader. If this happens, Zardari would become the first president of Pakistan from Sindhi, which will augur well for the federation.
The writer is a freelance columnist.
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