Pak approves Rs 45 billion for armed forces to protect Chinese interests

Islamabad: The Pakistan government decided to provide an additional Rs 45 billion budget for the armed forces mainly to strengthen their capacity to protect Chinese commercial interests in the cash-strapped country and manage the fencing along international borders.

The decision was taken in the meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Thursday, which was chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, reported The Express Tribune.

The paper said that out of the Rs 45 billion, an amount of Rs 35.4 billion will be given to the military and Rs 9.5 billion to the navy for various purposes.

The ECC considered and approved a proposal submitted by the Defence Division for a technical supplementary grant of Rs 45 billion for the already approved projects of defence services during the current fiscal year.

It is the second major supplementary grant approved for the armed forces after the approval of the budget in June. Earlier, the ECC gave Rs 60 billion for Operation Azm-e-Istehkam. These supplementary grants are over and above the Rs 2.127 trillion defence budget.

Due to the increasing number of terror attacks, China has demanded the signing of an agreement on anti-terrorism cooperation to address its security concerns.

China has also proposed the establishment of a joint company to ensure the security of its citizens already working in Pakistan or will be engaged during the CPEC phase II.

Under phase I, both sides have completed 38 projects worth USD 25.2 billion. Of these, 17 projects valued at USD 18 billion were completed in the energy sector, according to the paper.

About 26 projects worth USD 26.8 billion are in the pipeline and many of those have been included in CPEC phase II. However, the security concerns have slowed down work on these projects.

China has also proposed that a vehicle-mounted mobile securing equipment project should be included in phase II besides undertaking a project on ballistic protective vehicles, the paper reported.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a major infrastructure project in Pakistan, launched in 2015 as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

It aims to enhance economic connectivity between China and Pakistan by developing a network of roads, railways, pipelines and energy projects.