The Hindu : Front Page : Pakistan to downsize armed forces

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 29, 2004

Front Page

Front Page

Pakistan to downsize armed forces

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, APRIL 28. The Pakistan Army has decided to reduce the strength of its force by 50,000 as part of its effort to cut its "long tail" and, at the same time, sharpen its "teeth in a cost-effective way."

The decision, originally announced by the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, on March 13 in the course of a satellite address to a "conclave" organised by an Indian magazine, was endorsed by the Formation Commanders' Conference in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.

While Gen. Musharraf had presented the decision to the conclave as an initiative by Pakistan to cut down defence expenditure, the Pakistan Army maintained that the measure, to be implemented in a phased manner, was intended to raise the combat efficiency of the country.

"Why can't our defence expenditure be cut down? It certainly can be. Pakistan is not in the arms race. We maintain a quantified force level based on a perceived threat and a strategy of minimum deterrence.

"With the enhancement of firepower of weapons, we are already reducing the strength of our Army by 50,000. We had kept our defence budget frozen for the past four years. India has to review its own strategy because your defence forces are not based on threat but on power projection," Gen. Musharraf told the conclave.

Linked to World Bank conditionalities?

It is not immediately clear if the decision to reduce the forces is linked to the commitment made by Pakistan to the international financial institutions to keep its defence budget frozen for the next few years. Since Gen. Musharraf subscribed to the World Bank road map for the recovery of Pakistan's economy in 2000, the defence outlay of Pakistan's military has remained more or less constant.

A statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the sizable savings accruing from a reduction in the troops strength would be directed to enhance the combat efficiency of the Army. This reduction in manpower would in no way affect the fighting potential of the Army, it said.

The ISPR claimed that it would rather transform the Army into a more potent institution, increase its response capabilities and result in a fine balance between quality and quantity. The participants of the conference were briefed on a restructuring plan that envisaged the Pakistan Army to be "lean but lethal" and hard-hitting.

"It will improve the teeth-to-tail ratio, in which the tail is being reduced by about 50,000 men to allow sizable savings in funds," an ISPR release said. Gen. Musharraf also approved the Army's plan to replace combat soldiers as batmen of Officers and Junior Commissioned Officers with a new cadre called Non-Combatant Bearers employed on contract.

The change, affirmed by all Formation Commanders participating in the conference, will take effect in five months starting from August 1 this year. By the end of this year, all combat soldiers will revert to their operational duties.

The Formation Commanders were also briefed on the security situation, threat perception, training and operational preparedness, logistics and welfare aspects of the Army. While reviewing the threat, the senior commanders dilated upon the Indian doctrine of "Cold Start" and felt satisfied after going through the response options of the Pakistan Army.

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