Mohammed Ayoob
There is a strong sense of déjà vu among Pakistan-watchers these days. The country is on the verge of a rerun of the 1958 military coup. Field Marshal Asim Munir, the second to hold such an exalted rank in Pakistan’s history, struts around the political and military stage with his political minions, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The newly minted field marshal’s powers were expanded and consolidated recently by a constitutional amendment that extended his control over all branches of the armed forces as the chief of defense forces. While ostensibly meant to “ensure greater coordination and unified command” among the three services, in reality, this is a consolidation of his authority over the political system. The amendment also provides Field Marshal Munir with lifelong legal immunity for all acts of omission or commission.
Field Marshal Munir’s popularity had risen to new heights during and after the brief and inconclusive war with India in May. The servile media portrayed him as the “savior” of Pakistan in the face of Indian “aggression.” No one raised questions about the Pakistani army’s alleged complicity with the perpetrators of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam in April that led to the Indian retaliation next month.
The glorification of the army chief and the military establishment stems from the perception that the military is the only institution holding the country together in the face of the Baluchistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa regional insurgencies, terrorist attacks attributed to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and a chaotic civilian parliament.
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