Pak defence budget up by 17 per cent

Pakistan will increase defence spending by 17 per cent in the 2010/11 fiscal year as the country prepares itself for military operations against militants, the de-facto finance minister announced on Saturday.

Pakistan will increase defence spending by 17 per cent in the 2010/11 fiscal year as the country prepares itself for military operations against militants, the de-facto finance minister announced on Saturday.

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Defence spending is set to rise to 442.2 billion rupees for the 2010/11 fiscal year beginning on July 1, compared with 378.13 billion rupees allocated in 2009/10, Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, the de-facto finance minister, said.