Number of Sri Lankan soldiers will be 1 lakh
A statement issued by the Sri Lankan Defense Ministry said that by the year 2030, the army’s current strength of 200,783 would be reduced to 100,000. The ministry said the number would be capped at 135,000 by next year. The overall objective of the strategic blueprint is to create a technologically and tactically strong and well balanced defense force by 2030 to meet the upcoming security challenges, said a statement quoting state Defense Minister Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon.
Rs 539 billion allocated for defense
Sri Lanka’s defense allocation of Rs 539 billion in the 2023 budget has drawn criticism as Sri Lanka faces its worst economic crisis since 1948. Sri Lanka was unable to afford major imports, including fuel, fertilizers and medicines, due to a shortage of foreign exchange, which led to long queues. An allocation of over Rs 300 billion each has been made in the 2023 budget for health and education. However, since the end of the conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009, the military strength of about 400,000 has been halved. Despite this, the current number of troops of more than 200,000 has also been termed as excessive.
Sri Lankan President expressed the need for military reform
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe said last year that military strategy needed to be reformed to prepare Sri Lanka’s military to face new challenges. Tamil minority and rights groups have been calling for military cuts in conflict zones in the northern and eastern provinces.
Pakistan is also on the verge of bankruptcy
At the same time, Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves are at the lowest level since 2014. The situation is so bad that if Pakistan does not get loan from abroad soon, it may be declared bankrupt. Pakistan’s central bank has said that their country has only $430 million left in the name of foreign exchange reserves. Even the installments of the old loan cannot be repaid. Seeing the deteriorating economic condition of the country, Pakistani PM Shahbaz Sharif and Army Chief General Asim Munir are seeking help from the whole world.
(with inputs from the agency)