Standoff at India border hits economy: Pak minister

Pakistan, struggling to revive its shattered economy, said on Monday a mass deployment of troops along its eastern borders with India had caused an over-run in Defence spending and hit its economy.

Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz, told a Pakistan Development Forum (PDF) meeting in Paris via video conferencing from Islamabad, the government remained committed to ambitious reforms, but unexpected expenditure had hit economic prospects.

‘‘Pakistan had to deploy troops in self-defence resulting in an over-run in Defence spending,’’ the minister said. The World Bank-chaired PDF, a collection of bilateral and multilateral donors, meets annually to review development priorities for the country and its financing needs.