ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday defended its decision to raise defense spending by 20 percent in the new fiscal year, citing the need to strengthen missile defenses and counter what it described as a permanent state of hostility from India following the latest military standoff between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
The remarks came during a press conference in London, where a high-level Pakistani delegation led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is lobbying Western governments to support Pakistan’s position on Kashmir, regional stability, and water security. The delegation includes senior lawmakers, including Khurram Dastgir Khan, a former defense minister and ruling Pakistan Muslim League party member.
Pakistan’s FY2025–26 budget has allocated Rs2.1 trillion ($7.5 billion) to defense, up from Rs1.8 trillion last year. The increase comes weeks after a brief but intense military flare-up with India in May, triggered by a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad, which denies the allegations.
Responding to questions about the sharp rise in defense allocations in Pakistan’s 2025–26 federal budget announced on Tuesday, Dastgir said the increase was proportional and necessary given the country’s limited resources and regional threat perception.
“Pakistan has proven that they [India] spend 10 times more than us every year. We are $7.5 billion. Probably last year they spent $77 billion on their defense in a year,” the Pakistani lawmaker said.
“Despite that, we have seen that the skill of Pakistan and the equipment that Pakistan has, by using it well, we have defeated our 10 times bigger enemy. It has forced it to retreat.”
Dastagir was referring to exchanges of drones, missiles, and artillery between the two archenemies between May 7-10 before a ceasefire was announced. After India struck first on May 7, Pakistan vowed retaliation, saying it had downed six Indian fighter jets.
The two nations also struck each other’s military bases, airfields and other army facilities.
India, which allocated roughly $77 billion to defense in 2024 according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute data, has called the May clashes a result of cross-border militant activity, a charge Islamabad denies.
Dastgir argued that Pakistan’s defense posture remained reactive and restrained.
“There will be more discussion on this, on the permanent war-craze from India that is being imposed on us,” he said.
He emphasized that Pakistan must optimize its constrained budget to reinforce deterrence.
“We have to make the best use of our limited resources. One thing is clear — that we have to strengthen our grounded defenses against the Indian missiles,” Dastagir added.
“So, by looking at the economy of Pakistan, we will make the best use of this budget. And the strength of Pakistan will be further enhanced and renewed.”
The comments reflect Islamabad’s effort to reframe its increased defense spending as a measured response to external threats, rather than a departure from regional stability commitments. The government has also pledged to continue talks under the aegis of international partners to avoid escalation.
The Pakistani delegation is expected to continue its tour with visits to Brussels where it will once more present Islamabad’s case for de-escalation, resumption of water treaty obligations, and progress on the decades-old Kashmir dispute.
