Pakistan

            
             Defence expenditure can be termed as the need of this century by any country. Be it Pakistan or any other nation, they have to spend on defence in order to keep their national integrity alive. We all know the fate of countries that have suffered from the hands of strong military regime. The cold war, the present situation of Afghanistan and Iraq, all lead us to believe that enhanced and improved defence is the guarantee of a nation's survival.
             Why Pakistan needs to make defence expenditure?.
             Since getting independence in 1947, Pakistan has steadily increased its defence expenditure. Defence expenditure has been one of the biggest expenses of any Pakistan government. The main reason of considerably increase in the defence expenditure has been Pakistan's unhealthy relations with its nuclear neighbour, India. The major reason for escalation in the defence budget has been the perceived security threat against each other. The two countries of the subcontinent are like two people drowning in a pool, both weighed down by the heavy boots of defence expenditure. For each of the three fiscal years from 1996 to 1999, Pakistan's defence expenditure as percentage of total expenditure stood at a huge 26%. Pakistan's defence expenditure had shot up, following the Indo-Pak war of 1965, when it more than doubled in one year from Rs. 1,262 million in 1964-65 to Rs. 2,855 million in 1965-66, which was a rise from 4.82% to 9.86% of the GDP. Defence spending was also maintained at a much higher level after 1998. According to Economic Survey, as percentage of GNP, Pakistan's spending in 1998-99 stood at 0.7% on health, 2.2% on education and 4.8% on defence. India is a home to 400 million people who lived below the poverty line, where more than 50 million child labourers toil from dawn to dusk. Over the past decade, India has spent nearly Rs. 3000 billion on defence related matters.
             Pakistan's defence expenditure 1947 to 2003.