LAHORE: Prominent economist Dr Kaiser Bengali has suggested the government to cut down non-combat expenditures of the armed forces instead of seeking a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for paying debt instalments of the country, which is already “bankrupt”.
Dr Bengali, who is also heading the policy reforms unit (PRU) at the Balochistan chief minister’s office, stated this while responding to a question raised by a journalist during the third Asma Jahangir Conference 2021 at a local hotel on Sunday.
He said that 60 percent of the country’s total budget goes to the armed forces on the pretext of ‘defence’ which was unreasonable for a country like Pakistan because we were already borrowing greenback from other countries for repayments of our debts.
This practice can no longer be justified. If I can conceive, I will say I’m not talking about combat expenditures because I don’t know much about defence, which guns or bullets should we buy but I certainly am competent to talk about non-expenditures, he was quoted as telling the audience.
Continuing his argument, the economist claimed that there are three cantonments from Lahore to Peshawar on the national highways which are 10 kilometres of each other in every 40 kilometres on average. “All these cantonments were built by the British when there was a danger of Russian invasion from there. Now, we are friendly regimes with Moscow and we don’t need any of these cantonments, except two or three, while the rest have to go. Cut down that expenditure,” he advised.
He said that every country in the world has a coastguard which protects their coasts during “peace times”. “However, Pakistan has a coastguard and the maritime security agency. Two organisations bring a same job. So non-combat expenditures can be cut-down by 80 percent, if not zero,” he added.
Bengali recalled that there was recently the case of a club which they (armed forces) had built near the Rawal Lake and the expenditure incurred on its swimming pool was about Rs500 million. In Lahore, he added, there is an army museum near the airport and I don’t know how much cost was spent on it and how much it has helped us liberating Kashmir and protected us from Indians or whatever.
He said the problem is there are two Pakistans – the Pakistan of the elite has a completely different vision of this country, they are very happy. “We have to build one Pakistan, where everything must be for everybody.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics Vice Chancellor Nadeem-ul-Haque, who joined the conference via video-link, accused Dr Kaiser Bengali and other spekers of toeing the narrative of ‘donors’ by speaking against the respectable institutions.
When Khurram Hussain, the moderator, intervened and tried to pacify the situation, Haque subsequently went offline leaving the audience in an awkward situation.
Earlier, former Punjab finance minister Dr Ayesha Ghaus Pasha, while explaining the participants about the macroeconomics and why the Pak rupee recently decreased sharply, said that whether ones like it or not but now it’s the reality that Pakistan has become a food importing country.
“It is the catastrophic that Pakistan country which was once known as the cereal breadbasket of the subcontinent is now importing wheat, edible oil, sugar and other essential food commodities,” she regretted. “Let me tell you that the government is only borrowing money to run its affairs but nearly 40 percent of the defence expenditures are also being met through these loans. Ali Hasanain, associate professor of economics at LUMS, also spoke.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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