ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) leader and MNA Khwaja Saad Rafique on Monday criticised a recent statement attributed to military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas regarding the country's defence budget, DawnNews reported.

Rafique said the military's procedures and the use of its budget were not beyond criticism.

He said "certain points in the military spokesman's statement are not acceptable to democrats" and that it was the parliament's prerogative to oversee the budgets of state institutions.

Rafique said a strong and professional military would always be necessary for the country, however, its procedures and its budget details cannot be beyond criticism.

He further said that the military should remain restricted to the country's "defence and national security issues".

Earlier, speaking to a private television channel, Director General of Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Athar Abbas had reportedly said that the usage of funds in civilian departments should be streamlined instead of criticising the defence budget.

No army in the world can disclose its development budget to the public, a report quoted Abbas as saying.