India, Pakistan urged to cut military spending: 'Media Conclave'

[LETHALFORCE]

India, Pakistan asked to cut military spending - Hindustan Times

An India-Pakistan media conclave here has urged the two countries to cut their military expenditure and focus more on socio-economic development.

"Increasing tensions between India and Pakistan, piling up of arms worth billions of dollars, helps only arms merchants of the US and

other countries... and is not in the interests of India and Pakistan," Karachi Press Club president Tahir Hasan Khan said on Saturday.
Khan, who is leading a 14-member Pakistani media delegation on a week-long visit to Mumbai and Pune, said he and his colleagues saw many homeless people sleeping on the pavements here.

"It is similar to the situation in Karachi and other (Pakistani) cities. The (two) governments must spend more on poverty alleviation and creating jobs rather than mindless spending on purchase of arms," he said.

Karamat Ali, executive director of the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research, said the US has been "fooling" both Pakistan and India to benefit arms manufacturers.

Ali pointed out that how the US kept Pakistan hanging for years over an F-16 fighter planes deal and finally delivered the aircraft only to save around 5,000 jobs in its defence manufacturing sector.

"When India protests, the US offers F-18 planes to it. You can see how the US is benefiting by keeping both India and Pakistan at loggerheads," Ali said.

Peace activist Jatin Desai said it was high time the media of both countries addressed issues like food, clothing and shelter.

The conclave was presided over by Navi Mumbai Mayor Sagar Naik. The Pakistanis are in India on the invitation of the Press Club, Mumbai.

 

[Bangalorean]

I hate such people. Constant equal-equal!!! Idiotic fellows! Send them to LoC and ask them to stop pious terrorists from getting in!!!

 

[Aayush]

Never.We can sustain our spending.Poopistanis are begging to get their defence spending.
We should continue our spending,and even increase it,it will eventually lead them to come on the roads

 

[Bangalorean]

Damn, these people need to have some sense kicked into them!!! The Pakis came here, saw some homeless people in Mumbai, and jump gleefully, "see, you are also so poooor!!! See, USA is evil - evil!! Let us have peace - peace - peace". And meanwhile, send more and more terrorists across the LoC, and into Mumbai, to kill all the homeless people at one shot!!

Useless Pakis are useless!!! What does one do about the useful idiots Indian journalists who provide fodder for their narrative?

 

[W.G.Ewald]

An India-Pakistan media conclave here has urged the two countries to cut their military expenditure...

A media conclave? What a concept! News media are a business, not social arbiters.

 

[Singh]

Unfortunately this shows Pakistani have a very narrow understanding. India's security and defence needs are not based on Pakistan,, China, global terror, rising stature, desire to be a global power all play an important part.

Pakistan is welcome to match us in an arms race, its theirs to lose.

 

[p2prada]

Our defence budget growth alone is greater than their yearly spend on defence.

The American aid cut seems to have scared the crap out of them. No wonder they are so jittery with all that talk about Siachen and now this.

Poor blokes don't realize that we can spend even more on defence and still spend a lot more on socio-economic development. Just because our growth story is seeing a hiccup doesn't mean we roll back all our plans.

These people have to realize that our military spending is no longer Pakistan specific and neither is it China specific.

They want to pass off the Americans as the bad guys.

We are not interested Mr Kiyani. Take your nonsense to China.

 

[Singh]

^^ Pakistanis are interested in tit for tat with India; this is their bane and our boon. It'll take decades to unravel the falsehoods fed to the public, and Army doesn't want to unravel itself in front of the public and lose all its power.

 

[Dovah]

Wonder where these guys were when the Pakistanis were getting the F-16s and P-3cs.

 

[ajtr]

Its good suggestion.For starter:
1. both countries should pull back from siachin saving millions in spending on daily basis.
2. India should seriously cut down its force manpower that way reduce the defence budget in salary and other assorted spending on soldiers
3. Save money from importing arms and those eaten away by generals through corruption during weapon buying.

 

[Oracle]

Its good suggestion.For starter:
1. both countries should pull back from siachin saving millions in spending on daily basis.
2. India should seriously cut down its force manpower that way reduce the defence budget in salary and other assorted spending on soldiers
3. Save money from importing arms and those eaten away by generals through corruption during weapon buying.

Bah! What a troll suggestion. We have the money, what does land of the mule riding terrorists have? Talk about shameless idiots!

 

[Bangalorean]

Unfortunately this shows Pakistani have a very narrow understanding. India's security and defence needs are not based on Pakistan,, China, global terror, rising stature, desire to be a global power all play an important part.

Pakistan is welcome to match us in an arms race, its theirs to lose.

True, my problem is that Indian "journalists" happily agree with whatever some silly inbred Paki comes here and says, and keep giving us the same old idiotic narrative of "both nations should reduce defence expenditure to overcome poverty"!

I don't know when our Indian mediamen will learn.

 

[Iamanidiot]

Its good suggestion.For starter:
1. both countries should pull back from siachin saving millions in spending on daily basis.
2. India should seriously cut down its force manpower that way reduce the defence budget in salary and other assorted spending on soldiers
3. Save money from importing arms and those eaten away by generals through corruption during weapon buying.

Ajtr India spends under 3% of its gdp on defence so as singh state you are unable to grass our intentions add to that majority of India wants dead Pakistanis sorry good Pakistanis

 

[p2prada]

^^ Pakistanis are interested in tit for tat with India; this is their bane and our boon. It'll take decades to unravel the falsehoods fed to the public, and Army doesn't want to unravel itself in front of the public and lose all its power.

If the people have a veil over their eyes then even the brightest light is as dark as the belly of a whale.

 

[Singh]

Its good suggestion.For starter:
1. both countries should pull back from siachin saving millions in spending on daily basis.
2. India should seriously cut down its force manpower that way reduce the defence budget in salary and other assorted spending on soldiers
3. Save money from importing arms and those eaten away by generals through corruption during weapon buying.

1. If Pakistan agrees that Siachen belongs to India, then India will move back asap.
The only reason Pakistan is not agreeing is because they have dishonorable intentions. They tried to usurp Kashmir in 1948, 65 and then 1999 too; they also spread insurgency in Kashmir; they also committed large scale genocide of PoK residents who were against Pakistan, and finally they gave away a huge chunk of Kashmir to China.

2. India's army employs far less soldiers per capita than most countries. Pakistan's armed forces are 70% of India's and their population 15% that of India's.
I am for increasing the number of soldiers in the armed forces, it is presently too low for such a huge and major player and we are facing a severe shortage of officers.

3. India can save money from imports, if it develops domestic industry. You are confusing the issues.

 

[p2prada]

Its good suggestion.For starter:
1. both countries should pull back from siachin saving millions in spending on daily basis.

Firstly you are not on Siachen. So, stop asking for things that you cannot achieve. You once had possession of Siachen, but we took it. So, stop crying about things that don't belong to you.

Asking for demilitarization of Siachen as a mutual move is like asking for demilitarization of Bangalore. For starters you need to be on Siachen to request a mutual pullback.

2. India should seriously cut down its force manpower that way reduce the defence budget in salary and other assorted spending on soldiers

India is actually doing just the opposite. FYI, India has 8 army corps facing Pakistan. Just so you know we are currently raising 3 whole new Corps facing China in the North East. The first 2 divisions of 33000-35000 men are ready. In a few more years we will triple that number to form the 3 corps.

Current defence spending is 1.9-2% of GDP. Rs 1.9 Lakh Crore against a GDP of Rs 95-100 Lakh Crores. This year the budget rose by 17% or around $5Billion, however MoD has submitted a new revision so as to increase the budget by another $8.5billion in order to bring it to 2.25% of GDP which is actually very less as compared to Pakistani or even Chinese spending. So, you can expect an actual increase of over 35% this year alone.

3. Save money from importing arms and those eaten away by generals through corruption during weapon buying.

You need to prove those allegations first. A Lt Gen was court martialed only last year for stealing some tents. Come up with better allegations, at least when actual weapons are involved.

No need to point fingers at us for an arms race. We are doing what any country normally does, only you have fallen off track. Take out those terrorist proxies, hand over criminals like Hafiz Saeed, stop claiming Kashmir for your own, quit shouting about Siachen every 10 days and recognize LoC as the International border. Peace will automatically come. The ball is in your court, so choose what you want to do or try and keep up with the Indian military juggernaut lest you be trampled under it's chariot.

 

[Bangalorean]

No way we should reduce our weaponry, not even a bit. We should increase defence spending, and provoke the silly pakis to engage in "Arms race" with us. Let them eat grass in their quest for "parity" with India.

 

[p2prada]

1. If Pakistan agrees that Siachen belongs to India, then India will move back asap.

India has no reason to pull back troops from Siachen no matter what the Pakistanis think. Why should we pull out of our own land? They don't need to be worried about our troop casualties or the so called "wastage" of funds.

Anyway a presence on Siachen is necessary for us even if Pakistan does recognize it as ours. I don't know the reason for it though. I think Ray sir can answer that as long as it does not violate OSA.

 

[LETHALFORCE]

Pulling out of siachen may not be the right move when Chinese are sticking their noses in POK.

 

[ejazr]

I read only Pakistanis asking for cutting military expenditure

Btw India spends more money (1.9 lakh crore) on subsidies for LPG, Petrol, diesel and Kerosense than on defence (1.8 lakh crore) approximately

How about the "media conclave" talk about cutting down the subsidies so that govt. can actually start spending on health care, education and food security?