Pakistan has allocated more funds allocated to equip army with modern weapons

The government of Pakistan has allocated Rs 102.4 billion ($1.28 billion) for the Armed Forces Development Plan (AFDP) in the upcoming fiscal year 2009-10, Finance Secretary Salman Siddique said.Former president Pervez Musharraf initiated the AFDP to modernise the country’s armed forces through an initial target of $15 billion by 2015. However, the programme’s target was later increased to $25 billion. The government has been financing the strategic programme with an annual allocation of $1 billion for the last four years. The present government allocated $1.2 billion for the plan during 2008-09, and has allocated $1.28 billion for 2009-10 to meet the growing defence requirements of the armed forces. This amount is allocated out of the budget.The AFDP is vital to increase the country’s defence preparedness, and respond to national security threats from both internal and external factors. The recent rise in acts of terrorism and insurgency have required the government to upgrade the country’s weapons, and obtain access to the latest technologies available in the world markets in order to adequately address the security challenges. Official sources said allocations made in foreign exchange for the AFDP are mainly used for imports.

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