Pakistan withdraws pensionary benefits of five former-servicemen: Report

Pakistan Army has withdrawn all post-retirement benefits including pension and free medical cover of five retired army officers, according to local media.

The officers include at least one former-major general, for being part of the anti-army campaign, The News International reported citing sources.The source said that action against these officers was taken last month after following legal procedures and giving the ex-servicemen a chance to defend their position.

Also read | Debt-ridden Pakistan imposes ‘luxury tax’ on big cars for 'hard times'

"The GHQ had proceeded against the five retired officers at least two weeks before PMLN Vice President Maryam Nawaz spoke on the issue," one of these sources said, according to The News International.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani government has proposed an allocation of PKR 1.523 trillion for defence services for the fiscal year 2022-23, with an increase of 11.16 per cent over the initial allocation for the outgoing year (2021-22).

Citing the budget documents tabled in the National Assembly, Dawn newspaper reported that the allocation makes up nearly 1.94 per cent of the GDP and 16 per cent of the total expenditure planned by the government for the next year.

Watch | Pakistan budgeting for tougher days? Islamabad ups petroleum levy

The hike is almost at par with the average inflation calculated for the year ending on June 30, the newspaper said.

Dawn citing a source, last week said that defence spending in the next year would be increased by 6 per cent to PKR 1.45 trillion.

On Friday, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail presented the budget of 9.5 trillion rupees for the upcoming fiscal year starting from July 2022 to June 2023 at the Lower House of the country`s parliament.

Also read | Wedding ceremonies banned in Islamabad after 10 pm to conserve electricity

A day after the federal budget, Ismail on Saturday said that Pakistan is going through a "very difficult" phase.

"I have never seen a more difficult time in the past 30 years where on the one hand, the international environment is very challenging and the government or administration has worsened and nothing was done to resolve issues," Dawn quoted the Pakistan Finance Minister as saying.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called the budget balanced, progressive and pro-people.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.