Ex Service men Chief Gen Qayyum Press Conference
Gen Qayyum Press Conference in Rawalpindi
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00:00I have some data which I would like to share with you.
00:06Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or SIPRI as it is called,
00:13has issued this data that last year, in 2023-2024,
00:18they said that Pakistan's defence budget was 14.4 trillion.
00:24And 12.47% of that went to defence.
00:30And now, in 2024-2025, they have 18.8 trillion.
00:35And now, 11.23% of that has gone.
00:39That means that the percentage of that budget has decreased.
00:43And in this, inflation has not been counted.
00:46So, these are your losses.
00:48Some people say that,
00:50in this budget, they say,
00:52I was hearing that this is all the defence budget,
00:56and they are giving money to them.
00:58In this budget, which is about 1800 billion,
01:02the army has 800 billion, 800-900 billion.
01:06And the rest, the army has 47%,
01:11Pakistan Air Force has 21%,
01:14Navy has 10%,
01:16and the HIT, POF, Defence Productions,
01:21they also have 20%.
01:23So, in every way, you see that,
01:26this situation has come to you.
01:30Now, some people say that,
01:32this army foundation, HIT, DHA,
01:36they have eaten it up.
01:38By God, let me tell you that,
01:40this has happened before the facts.
01:43These foundations don't take a penny from the government.
01:46I took this data.
01:48The first thing is that,
01:50when the army gets 800-900,
01:52how much do you collect on your tax and sale duties?
01:55They said that, last year,
01:57this data was given,
01:59100 billion was returned by the army,
02:01on its taxes and sale duties.
02:05Okay.
02:06The army foundation has collected 223 billion,
02:10tax duties, profits, etc.
02:14Number 3,
02:15Army Welfare Trust has 3 billion,
02:18DHA has 23 billion,
02:20and NLC has 3.5 billion.
02:22This is 360 billion rupees.
02:25Out of this, the 800-900 billion that you gave,
02:28this much has been returned.
02:30Now, that is not included in this,
02:32that the Defence Productions,
02:34I was the chairman of POF,
02:36HIT, Kamra,
02:38to make JF-17 Thunder,
02:40their contribution,
02:42that import substitute,
02:45if you have to order a plane from abroad,
02:48if you have to order cannons,
02:50all these demands,
02:52short of helicopters,
02:54not only are they being made in Pakistan,
02:57but they are being exported.
02:59You see, the helicopters,
03:01we are giving the Mashaq plane,
03:03the JF-17 Thunder to Nigeria,
03:06millions,
03:08I checked this from POF,
03:10what was your export,
03:12they said,
03:14100 million dollars,
03:16we exported last year.
03:18So, what I mean is,
03:20taking this 800 from Defence,
03:22I think this negative propaganda,
03:24should not be there.
03:26Now, you see,
03:28how much money you spend on your soldiers,
03:31this is the reality inside.
03:33I am a soldier, a war veteran,
03:35on the grassroots level,
03:37second lieutenant,
03:39and I am proud,
03:41that I took the Special Forces,
03:43I swear to God,
03:45because it gave me respect,
03:47I stayed in it,
03:49I got a clean life,
03:51and I got the benefits of it.
03:53Now, you see,
03:55in America,
03:57a soldier spends $392,000.
03:59Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
04:01$371,000.
04:03In India, $42,000 is spent,
04:05a soldier's training,
04:07uniform, medical,
04:09his accommodation.
04:11In Iran, $23,000 is spent,
04:13a soldier.
04:15The figure I have taken in Pakistan,
04:17$13,400,
04:19we spend it.
04:21And your soldier,
04:23your officer,
04:25they are second to none.
04:27When it comes to money,
04:29he takes his chest and goes ahead,
04:31but for God's sake,
04:33don't make them controversial.
04:35We keep doing our politics.
04:37When it comes to democracy,
04:39it will happen.
04:41The second defense budget,
04:43for example, China's $236 billion,
04:45that's a big country, why not?
04:47India is also a big country,
04:49they have $76 billion,
04:51almost 12 times more than us,
04:53$76 billion,
04:55and Iran's $30 billion,
04:57and Pakistan's $6.15 billion,
04:59$6.15 billion.
05:01Look, we say,
05:03don't even spend $6 billion.
05:05If your diplomatic
05:07and regional environment is such
05:09that your borders are safe,
05:11your people's lives and wealth are safe,
05:13then don't even spend a penny,
05:15there is no need for the army.
05:17The army's budget is related
05:19and its magnitude to the threat
05:21that they face.
05:23So if you have a threat from within,
05:25from the eastern border,
05:27then the terrorists are also
05:29after you.
05:31And you see,
05:33what is the target?
05:35The target is to stop the CPEC.
05:37And ISIS,
05:39Khurasan,
05:41they are after you.
05:43Kill the engineers,
05:45they are the red line,
05:47they should not cross.
05:49You are a nuclear power,
05:51you should be stopped,
05:53you should shut your mouth,
05:55and you should be in a down-and-down
05:57kind of government
05:59so that it does not move forward.
06:01This is a great nation,
06:03it has a lot of potential,
06:05it has the best doctors,
06:07the best engineers,
06:09the best media wizards,
06:11the best people in our business community.
06:13I have worked in civil,
06:15so I am telling you,
06:17they are worthy of pride,
06:19but they have to move forward.
06:21So this terrorism,