[Eurasian Times] Pakistan Army has canceled all military drills and war exercises until this year’s end. The reason was not a ceasefire agreement with India or peace and tranquillity on the borders but due to a lack of fuel.
It is evident now political and economic turmoil in the South Asian country has squeezed even the Pakistan Army.Intel reports accessed by EurAsian Times from across the border have revealed that DG Military Training of the Pakistan Army recently issued a letter to all the field formations and headquarters to suspend all the war games till December. The reason cited is the lack of "reserve fuel" and lubricants." In military terminology, reserve fuel is different from war reserves.
While war reserves are meant for weapons and fuel needed to fight a war for certain days or periods, reserved stores are generally meant for in-house military exercises and war drills.
Even after leaving the FATF Grey List and getting a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistan is reeling under an acute financial crunch. Adding to the economic turmoil is political instability caused by the arrest of Former Prime Minister Imran Khan (May 9).
Violent protests against the military brass, attacks on army establishments (cantonments and headquarters), and the burning of the flag-house further deteriorated the situation.
Inflation in Pakistan is high, and people are struggling with their daily lives. Riots and deaths have taken place for food items like flour. But the FOL (Fuels, Oil, and Lubricants) prices have pinched Pakistan Army the most.
Fuel prices in Pakistan are already exorbitantly high at 262 per liter (petrol and diesel), while kerosene oil is 164. As such, Pakistan Army cannot procure reserve fuel and other necessary lubricants needed to run a fleet of military trucks, tanks, and other armored vehicles.
"A Pakistani T-80 tank consumes two liters per kilometer," says Colonel Danvir Singh (Retired) of the Indian Army, a well-known expert in Delhi on Pakistan Army-related matters. That is why Pakistan has suspended all the armored and mechanized exercise, he said, speaking exclusively to EurAsian Times.
Pakistan Army consists of 560,000 active soldiers. It has a total of eight corps (roughly composed of 20-30 thousand soldiers), besides other ancillary divisions like SSG (Special Service Groups), which consist of commandos of special forces.
Pakistan Army has many military trucks, small vehicles, tanks, and infantry combat vehicles, which require huge amounts of fuel and lubricants annually.
"It is the science of cost-economy which we as young army officers of Indian Army had also felt during the early 90s when the Indian economy was in tatters and had to mortgage gold to revive the economy," recalls Col Danvir Singh, who had served in the infantry regiment.
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