The Field Marshal’s nation

Pakistan is no stranger to military strongmen. Since its creation in 1947, the country had been under off and on direct military rule for over 33 years. Gen. Ayub Khan seized power in 1958, and remained at the helm for 11 years. He was followed by Gen. Yahya Khan. After Yahya’s fall, the country entered a brief period of democratic experiment until Gen. Zia-ul-Haq staged another coup in 1977. Pakistan’s last military takeover came in 1999, when Gen. Pervez Musharraf toppled Nawaz Sharif’s elected government. When Musharraf was eventually forced out amid nationwide protests in 2008, Pakistan clawed its way back to civilian rule, even though the military continued to be the markhor in the room. Successive governments were careful not to antagonise the establishment.

Imran Khan’s rise in 2018 as an outsider promising to challenge the entrenched political elite, particularly the Pakistan Muslim League-N of Nawaz Sharif, initially made him the generals’ blue-eyed boy. But by the time he lost power in 2022, he had fallen out of favour with the military. If in 2018 the Sharifs accused the military of rigging elections in favour of Mr. Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), four years later, it was Mr. Khan who cried foul when his government was voted out in a no-confidence vote, and Shehbaz Sharif, the younger brother of Nawaz, became Prime Minister with the military’s backing. It was Mr. Sharif who appointed Asim Munir (in picture) as the army chief.

As the saying goes, Prime Ministers come and go, but the establishment stays.

Imran Khan is now in jail over dozens of corruption cases. So are many of his senior party leaders. The PTI, facing a systemic crackdown, was barred from using its popular election symbol, the cricket bat, ahead of the 2024 elections, and Mr. Khan was not allowed to campaign. Yet, independents backed by the PTI still emerged as the largest bloc in the election. Even so, Mr. Sharif stitched together a coalition with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and other smaller parties to form a government, with the blessings of Gen. Munir. As part of the power-sharing deal between the PML-N and the PPP, Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and leader of the PPP, returned as the President of Pakistan.

The PML-N secured the government; the PPP reclaimed the presidency, the military remained the power behind the throne.

Hybrid regime

Ever since, Pakistan’s governing arrangement has been described as a form of ‘hybrid rule’ — power shared between civilian leaders and the military. With the Shehbaz Sharif government weak and divided, and Imran Khan’s supporters persistently challenging the regime from the streets, Gen. Asim Munir steadily consolidated his authority. Following a brief air conflict with India in May 2025, he was elevated to the rank of Field Marshal, becoming a five-star officer. He began appearing at international stages along with Prime Minister Sharif. U.S. President Donald Trump called him “my favourite Field Marshal”.

Then came the 27th amendment of Pakistan’s Constitution. The passage of the amendment Bill, on November 13, formalised Gen. Munir’s grip on power, opening a new phase of de jure political dominance by the military. If Gen. Munir was the most powerful man in Pakistan until recently, he is now the most powerful man in Pakistan with constitutional protection.

The amendment was passed by a 64-0 vote in Pakistan’s Senate, the upper house, while in the National Assembly, 234 lawmakers voted in favour and four opposed it. Lawmakers from Imran Khan’s PTI boycotted the vote in both houses, calling it “an attack on Pakistan’s constitutional structure”. The amendment swiftly came into force after President Zardari signed the Bill. The 27th amendment rewrites Article 243 of the Constitution, introducing a new post — Chief of Defence Forces. The long-standing office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee will be abolished [as of November 27]. The Chief of Defence Forces — now Gen. Munir — will wield formal constitutional authority over the Army, Navy and Air Force. Under the new structure, the army chief will also serve as the Chief of Defence Forces. It also creates the post of commander of the National Strategic Command to oversee nuclear and strategic assets. The commander will be appointed by the Prime Minister on the Army chief’s recommendation.

The amendment also grants life-long immunity from criminal proceedings to any officer promoted to a five-star rank — now, only Gen. Munir — as well as the President. Five-star officers will retain the rank and privileges and remain in uniform for life and can be removed from only through an impeachment-like process under Article 47. “Where the federal government promotes a member of the armed forces to the rank of field marshal, marshal of the air force, or admiral of the fleet, such officer shall retain the rank and privileges and remain in uniform for life,” Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar said as he read the Bill, on November 8 in Parliament. Gen. Munir is only the second military officer in Pakistan’s history, after Field Marshal Ayub Khan, to receive a five-star designation.

Judicial restructure

Besides the military command restructure, the amendment has established a new federal Constitutional Court to hear constitutional cases, effectively stripping the Supreme Court of a key part of its authority. Pakistan’s judiciary, and particularly its powerful lawyer community, has at times challenged the military establishment. But the 27th amendment severely curtails the Supreme Court’s role on constitutional interpretation. Judges to the new constitutional court will be appointed by the President — currently aligned with the military — on the advice of the Prime Minister — another military ally, replacing the previous seniority-based system. The move has triggered widespread resentment within the judiciary. According to Senior Supreme Court Judge Mansoor Ali Shah, the judicial overhaul doesn’t represent a genuine reform agenda, but instead it is a political tool to weaken and control the judiciary. Two Supreme Court judges — Shah and Athar Minallah — resigned after the amendments were passed on November 13.

The 27th amendment will fundamentally alter Pakistan’s political trajectory. The balance of power in the civil-military hybrid rule had already tilted heavily towards the armed forces — the latest amendment tightens that grip even further.

In practice, there is only one man who benefits from all the clauses in the amendment— Field Marshal Asim Munir. And Pakistan’s mainstream political elite seem either unwilling or unable to challenge this power grab through legislation — except Imran Khan. But the former cricketer-turned-politician, despite his enduring popularity, has been languishing in jail for more than two years, when the Field Marshal is coming in from the cold.

The gist

Since 1947, Pakistan has spent over three decades directly under military rule, with multiple coups led by generals such as Ayub Khan, Zia-ul-Haq, and Pervez Musharraf

The current government under Shehbaz Sharif operates in the form of a ‘hybrid rule,’ where civilian leaders share power with the military

Passed on November 13, the amendment formalises military supremacy by creating the post of Chief of Defence Forces

Published – November 16, 2025 01:45 am IST