Voluntary cut in Pakistan's defence budget will not impact 'response potential': Gen. Bajwa

The Pakistan Army's move to slash its defence budget for one year will not impact the military's "response potential" to all types of threat, army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has asserted as he celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr with soldiers posted along the LoC with India.

Pakistan's military, in a rare move, decided to voluntarily cut the defence budget for the next fiscal year amid an austerity drive launched by the government to solve the cash-strapped nation's financial woes.

Commenting for the first time on the unprecedented move by the powerful military, Chief of Army Staff Gen. Bajwa on Wednesday assured the nation that there would be no impact to the military's "response potential" due to the voluntary cut in the defence budget.

Bajwa who spent Eid-ul-Fitr with troops along the Line of Control (LoC) said the best Eid for a soldier is to have pride for being on duty of defending the motherland even on such festive days away from the family.

"For defenders of Pakistan, our first family is the Pakistani nation, then the ones back home," he said while giving a pep talk to the troops.

Speaking on the voluntary decision to forego even the routine increase in the annual defence budget, the army chief said, "This initiative is not a favour to the nation as we are one through thick and thin."