The federal allocation for defence services in fiscal year 2026-27 has been fixed at Rs3 trillion, an increase of 17.65 per cent over the Rs2.55 trillion originally budgeted for 2025-26. It took effect from the start of the fiscal year on 1 July 2026, after Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presented the budget on 12 June 2026.
At this level, defence would account for about 2.08 per cent of projected GDP of Rs143.6 trillion and nearly 16 per cent of the total federal outlay of Rs18.77 trillion.
How the defence budget is divided
Employee-related expenses absorb the largest single share at Rs967.55 billion, a 14.36 per cent rise over last year's Rs846.03 billion. Operating expenses are projected at Rs743.46 billion, up from Rs704.4 billion, while civil works stand at Rs363.16 billion. The sharpest increase is under physical assets, which climbed 39.62 per cent to Rs925.83 billion from Rs663.08 billion. Defence administration has been given Rs10.9 billion. Military pensions are not included in these figures; Rs822 billion has been earmarked separately for retired military personnel.
Officers moving into civilian-run posts
Alongside the budget, federal authorities have continued to place military officers in posts traditionally held by civil servants. Major General Noor Wali Khan, HI (M), was transferred from the army and posted as Additional Secretary (BS-21) in the Interior and Narcotics Control Division on a secondment basis for three years, according to an Establishment Division notification. The interior ministry said he would head the civil armed forces under its control.
Other appointments followed the same pattern. Lieutenant General Muhammad Munir Afsar, a serving officer, has led NADRA since 3 October 2023 and was reappointed on 16 July 2025. Retired Lieutenant General Muhammad Saeed was appointed chairman of WAPDA in August 2025. Retired Lieutenant General Anwar Ali Hyder became the first chairman of the privatised Pakistan International Airlines Corporation after management control passed to the Arif Habib-led consortium in June 2026.
The wider pattern cited by observers
Analysts and journalists have pointed to a broader trend. A report in ThePrint quoted senior Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir saying serving generals have been appointed to institutions including NADRA, PIA, WAPDA, the CPEC Authority, SUPARCO, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Airports Security Force and the Anti-Narcotics Force, a practice he said began around 2019. The same report said the Special Investment Facilitation Council has 36 serving military officers as members who draw salaries from the defence budget.
The evidence does not yet establish the final judicial position on the NADRA chairmanship, the full legal basis of each secondment, or how much of the defence budget outside the published heads is spent on classified programmes.