Pakistan increases defense budget by 11

(MENAFN- Arab News) ISLAMABAD: Pakistan announced an 11 percent increase in its military budget as it continues to fight an insurgency in its embattled northwest.
Finance minister Ishaq Dar told parliament in his annual budget address that the country would take its defense budget from 700 billion rupees ($7 billion) to 780 billion rupees ($7.8 billion) for the financial year 2015-16.
'Keeping in view the security situation and security forces' needs we have increased the defense budget from 700 billion rupees to 780 billion rupees which is an increase of 11 percent' Dar told parliament.
Pakistan has been fighting a homegrown insurgency for over a decade with heavy deployments of troops in the border area near Afghanistan. The insurgency has killed more than 50000 people and thousands of others have been made homeless because of ongoing military operations.
The finance minister also announced 100 billion rupees ($1 billion) to be allocated for the rehabilitation of thousands of families who have been forced from their homes by the insurgency.
The country's powerful army has been getting a major portion of the budget for years to counter rival India with whom it has fought three wars.
The government however also announced a 29 percent increase in the public sector development budget to 700 billion rupees for the financial year of 2015-16 compared with 542 billion rupees the year before.