ISLAMABAD: Defence Secretary Lt-Gen (retd) Yasin Malik appeared before the Senate Standing Committee on Defence on Monday.
The Defence Secretary submitted details of the defence budget to the committee while also informing them that no political cell had been active in the ISI for the last five years nor had the spy agency interfered in politics during this time.
Malik further informed the committee that the US was given the use of Shamsi air base by the UAE for drone attacks with the approval of Pakistan.
Mushahid Hussain chaired the meeting of the committee, later informing reporters about the defence budget. Hussain said the present defence budget was Rs.545 billion which was 17% of the national budget and 2.3% of the GDP.
The Army is the largest recipient of the defence budget is the Pakistan Army which receives Rs.264 billion, Navy Rs.52 billion, Air Force Rs.114 billion, while the ISI, ISPR and other defence departments receive Rs. 92 billion. The pension of retired officers which amounts to Rs.105 billion is not part of the defence budget.
The committee furthermore was told that $ 12 billion had been received to date via the coalition support fund but was not use to compensate the families of victims of terrorism.
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