Pakistan raises annual defence budget by 10 per cent

Pakistan's new government announced Wednesday a 10 per cent increase in defence spending a week after taking office, despite a crippling budget deficit of 8.8 per cent. The budget for fiscal year 2013-14, which begins July 1, comes against a backdrop of weak economic growth, high inflation, dwindling foreign exchange reserves and unprecedented power cuts. But the new budget earmarked 627 billion rupees ($6.3 billion) for defence, a 10 per cent increase compared to 570 billion rupees in the outgoing year, ending June 30. Read details on Dawn.com