New Delhi, June 17 -- We'll eat grass but will get our own bomb." This vow made by Pakistani prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto wasn't just rhetoric; it became his nation's strategy. Five decades later, Pakistan spends skewed sums on its armed forces, while its formal economy stagnates at a low proportion of its GDP. With a burgeoning defence budget, its anti-India doctrine is self-defeating.

26, India's allocation for defence is Rs.6.8 trillion (about $79 billion) or about 1.9% of GDP; Pakistan's budget for 2025-26 has upped its core defence outlay by 20% to about $9 billion while cutting overall expenditure; with its military pensions taken into account, its total spending would be nearly $12 billion, which is well above 3% of its GDP....