Analysis: What SUPARCO’s New Budget Reveals About Pakistan’s Priorities Quwa Premium

SUPARCO is Pakistan’s primary organization for researching and developing space technologies. It also engages in applied earth sciences research (e.g., agriculture and food security work) and supports disaster management and mitigation. 

It is a state-owned enterprise organized under the Strategic Plans Division (SPD), which has given SUPARCO a deep defence-centric role for much of its history and, in turn, shifted it away from its core scientific role at the time of its formation.

However, it now appears that SUPARCO is returning to its scientific roots, with initiatives focused on managing civilian-use satellites on one end and conducting research programs, such as a future lunar rover and a manned spaceflight mission, among others. 

Since 2020, one will see that SUPARCO’s budget for 2024-2025 – i.e., $235 million USD – was the exception rather than the rule. The budget trends over the past five years show that SUPARCO’s spending mostly ranged from $24 million USD to $45 million USD. Thus, the 2025-2026 budget largely falls within the general average, albeit under the PDSP.