IMF demanded immediate privatization two power plants and a steel mill, Sources

[ziaulislam]

even if IK wins it will be due to blessing of army hence you wont see nay taxation reforms
unless soem army generals are prosecuted people wont invest in pakistan as they will think of "nothing" has chnaged

 

[legacytiger18]

Inshallah IMF will force military mafia to cut down their strength and defense budget aka DHA budget more.

I don't mind if IMF demands to cut down submarines, further J10Cs and other expensive military hardware deals. This is now certain that Pakistan does not face any danger from India since the actual danger is from its own military.

I am very sure if Milatary does not take major chunk of the resources of Pakistan, Pakistan will be out of this crisis within 2 years . Problem is they always take away a bigger pie. This will cause Pakistani public to bite the bullet

 

[Olympus81]

even if IK wins it will be due to blessing of army hence you wont see nay taxation reforms
unless soem army generals are prosecuted people wont invest in pakistan as they will think of "nothing" has chnaged

You are right.

Even if IK wins with majority, the overseas Pakistanis will be very circumspect before investing. Let’s not even talk about foreign investors.

 

[epebble]

I am very sure if Milatary does not take major chunk of the resources of Pakistan, Pakistan will be out of this crisis within 2 years .

How are you so confident? Pakistan's main problems are external balance of payment. Most of the military budget is consumed by salaries, allowances, perks, pensions etc. (the 'tail'). The amount spent on imported hardware, fuel etc., may be 5 to 10%. If Military expenditure is 5% of GDP, 10% of that is 0.5% of GDP. It is too small to make a big difference. It is definitely a good thing if Pakistan steers money from military to human development like school and healthcare, but it is no silver bullet.

 

[SoulSpokesman]

@epebble

Most of the military budget is consumed by salaries, allowances, perks, pensions etc.

It is possible that a lot of these salaries are being spent on imported goodies. With salary cuts, maybe those imports will come down?

Regards

 

[ziaulislam]

You are right.

Even if IK wins with majority, the overseas Pakistanis will be very circumspect before investing. Let’s not even talk about foreign investors.

I was posting about his issue in 2020-22 no one believed back then this will last.

How are you so confident? Pakistan's main problems are external balance of payment. Most of the military budget is consumed by salaries, allowances, perks, pensions etc. (the 'tail'). The amount spent on imported hardware, fuel etc., may be 5 to 10%. If Military expenditure is 5% of GDP, 10% of that is 0.5% of GDP. It is too small to make a big difference. It is definitely a good thing if Pakistan steers money from military to human development like school and healthcare, but it is no silver bullet.

Biggest problem of Pakistan is military not allowing for the govt to function
I.e collect taxes or do accountability
Same way how it happens in other countries

 

[epebble]

even if IK wins it will be due to blessing of army hence you wont see nay taxation reforms
unless soem army generals are prosecuted people wont invest in pakistan as they will think of "nothing" has chnaged

I don't think the military will back IK again. He has burnt the bridges too entirely for there to be any reconciliation. A likely scenario may be military will stay out of the next election choosing the 'none of the above' option, no clear majority due to divided parliament, and we have Groundhog Day all over again. This has been the pattern in crisis prone democracies recently. Israel has had too many elections to count with no clear victor. U.K.'s Tories so ran out of candidates for P.M. that Sunak was the 'Last Man Standing' and was crowned by default. This story has Lebanon written all over it.

 

[TNT]

You know I actually believe that. Instead of going to IMF if your govt just threatened your military to privatize fauji companies and not give land grants during retirment (and only pension salary like we do here in India), I'm sure they'll cough up 5 billion in less than 1 day.

But they may also order 111 brigade to move into PM house....so that's a risk....

The PM is already the slave. A major and col rank officer is kept to keep the PM inline. So what can a govt do when the PM level is no more than a col. When army brings in a new PM, the only thing the PM can do is do corruption n earn money and thats it.

 

[blain2]

Thank god for Military Inc!

If Military Inc. wasn't around, our defense budget would be competing with KSA's ~ 6.5% if not higher.

 

[Dalit]

Thank god for Military Inc!

If Military Inc. wasn't around, our defense budget would be competing with KSA's ~ 6.5% if not higher.

All your army did is bring disgrace and bloodshed.

 

[maithil]

Who will buy steel mill ? Would have been sold if they could...

 

[HAIDER]

The new Woke crowd really gets annoying.

People first need to figure out what Military Inc is before demanding it be privatized.

Its partly self financing . They run their own projects to finance their welfare programs. But I don t know if they pay tax to Govt of Pakistan or if they are tax exempt. @blain2 @Signalian

 

[blain2]

All your army did is bring disgrace and bloodshed.

Keep on keeping on...

 

[blain2]

Its party self financing . They run their own projects to finance their welfare programs. But I don t know if they pay tax to Govt of Pakistan or if they are tax exempt. @blain2 @Signalian

They are the single largest tax payers in Pakistan. Some may say their tax bracket should be higher...up to the government, but they pay their taxes to the national coffer without delay.

What is lost on people is that our foundations soften the blow on the government by not relying on it for enhanced support for retired personnel. They provide an avenue for retired personnel (hundreds of thousands) to be gainfully employed and to earn a living given that 95% of the force retires at a prime age of ~40s.

Military Inc. urbanizes wherever its infrastructure goes. It opens up downmarket industries in support of this infrastructure, it opens up schools, colleges and hospitals that in most cases are made available to the people living in what we call "pasmaanda" ilaaqay.

Lastly, military inc. subsidizes our military expenditures by taking on indigenous projects whose beneficiaries are the services. In this way, forex movement outside of the country is preserved. This task would be better suited for private sector, but just like there is very limited IT private sector on account of limited investment, defense industry requires even more investment.

 

[VCheng]

They are the single largest tax payers in Pakistan. Some may say their tax bracket should be higher...up to the government, but they pay their taxes to the national coffer without delay.

What is lost on people is that our foundations soften the blow on the government by not relying on it for enhanced support for retired personnel. They provide an avenue for retired personnel (hundreds of thousands) to be gainfully employed and to earn a living given that 95% of the force retires at a prime age of ~40s.

Military Inc. urbanizes wherever its infrastructure goes. It opens up downmarket industries in support of this infrastructure, it opens up schools, colleges and hospitals that in most cases are made available to the people living in what we call "pasmaanda" ilaaqay.

Lastly, military inc. subsidizes our military expenditures by taking on indigenous projects whose beneficiaries are the services. In this way, forex movement outside of the country is preserved. This task would be better suited for private sector, but just like there is very limited IT private sector on account of limited investment, defense industry requires even more investment.

All excellent points, but if I may raise a small question: Do you see any detrimental aspects for the nation from such a large business conglomerate run by the military? Any, at all?