Pakistan’s politics enters a new chapter — Future will decide if it is good or bad

Trump ushers in Pakistan military to power at the cost of the country’s democratic aspirations

Ever since gaining independence in 1947, Pakistan has seen its army barging into the seat of power by intimidating and dethroning the civilian governments. When democratically political leaders came to power, they expediently chose to heed the military’s diktats coming from behind the doors. Thus, the army has enjoyed an upper hand in most key decisions of the government without being visible. Some prime misters dared to defy the army’s instructions but had to pay a heavy price. They lost their power and found themselves behind bars entangled in legal quagmire.

Now, under the stewardship of Field Marshal Asim Munir, the military has abandoned its shroud and has come to the open to share power with the civilian government as equal, or even dominant partners.

For readers interested to know how Pakistan has been embroiled in a never-ending political uncertainty, the following list of the country’s government heads and their sad fate will provide interesting reading.

1. Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, died in 1948.
2. His successor, Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, was assassinated.
3. After an aggressive Islamization of the country’s political set-up, General Ayub Khan came to power in 1958 through the military’s intervention.
4. In 1969, the reins of power went to General Yahya Khan. A defeat in a war with India doomed him.
5. In 1973, a populist politician named Zulfikar Ali Bhutto assumed power through a democratic election.
6. General Zia-ul-Haq ousted Bhutto and assumed power in 1979. Bhutto was jailed, and later, hanged. Zia-ul-Haq died in a plane crash.
7. Benazir Bhutto became the prime minister in 1988 after winning the general election. Her government lasted just for two years. She was forced to resign in 1990.
8. Bhutto’s political rival Nawaz Sharif came to power in 1990 and could last till 1993 as the prime minister. He fell foul with the military and was forced to quit.
9. Bhutto returned to power in 1993, but her second term ended prematurely in 1996.
10. Nawaz Sharif returned to power, but couldn’t last long.
11. In 1999, Geral Parvez Musharraf seized power using the military and sent Sharif to jail.
12. In 2008, Musharaf was shown the door as a coalition of Mrs. Bhutto and her political rival Nawaz Sharif joined hands to govern the country.
13. Bhutto died in a suicide attack in 2007, and Yusaf Ali Gilani of the rival party became the prime minister.
14. In 2012, Gilani was asked to resign by the country’s highest court.
15. In 2013, Nawaz Sharif became prime minister again, for the third time. But he was forced to resign by the country’s Apex Court.
16. Imran Khan, the famous cricketer, took over power as the prime minister in 2018 and continued to rule till 2022. However, he lost a no-confidence motion in parliament. Shehbaz Sharif is the prime minister and Imran Khan is rotting in jail entangled in a legal imbroglio.

The Pak military has historically called the shots in all governance matters, including diplomacy and security policies. Civilian prime ministers willingly or unwillingly play second fiddle to the military without much consternation. In rare cases, if they do, they are made to demit office, and head to jail on trumped up charges.

People knew that the military was pulling the strings in most government matters. They accepted it as a fait accompli and even supported the military’s backdoor role. The ouster of the highly popular prime minister, Imran Khan in 2022 and his incarceration have angered scores of Pakistanis. It’s common knowledge that opposition politicians with the full backing of the miliary engineered Imran Khan’s defeat in the no confidence motion in the National Assembly. The spontaneous protests by Khan’s against the military have been both daring and disturbing.

In the last few months, the Pak military’s role has become open and much stronger than before. Field Marshall Munir backed by the military has snapped the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s heels to emerge as the real power center of the country. The democratically elected prime minister and his cabinet are relegated to the back seat. Now Munir and his cohorts decide the course of the government across the board –from economy to diplomacy to security. Unlike in the past, Munir has dared to shed all inhibitions and appear in public as the man-in-charge, ready to take on public questioning. Pakistan’s political set-up had never seen such compatibility between the armed forces and the civilian government. The change has come about through mutual agreement, and not by a violent coup.

Led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s parliament has passed a sweeping constitutional change in November. One of the clauses elevated the army chief Munir to head the other two branches, the Navy and the Air Force. His service term is extended by five more years, and he will be legally immune to any sort of court cases. Effectively, Munir will hold sway over Pakistan’s armed forces for 10 more years now.

A slew of developments happened in the recent months that brought Field Marshall Munir to the limelight at the expense of the elected prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif.

A terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam in Kashmir triggered a brief military conflict (May 7 to May 10, 2025) that was marked by high-pitch aerial and missile warfare. The ceasefire happened at the behest of President Trump who personally spoke to army chief General Munir bypassing Prime Minister Sharif. After the war stopped, both sides claimed victory in the brief confrontation. The noise in the media was too high and murky. The average Pakistani believed that their army chief Munir had effectively ‘defeated’ India in the war. The Pak civilian government joined the chorus, too. General Munir cornered all credit for such an ‘astounding victory’ over India. Such a perception idolized Munir and his image soared sky-high.

Just days after the end of the conflict, Trump invited Munir to White House for lunch that was an one-to-one meeting. Many observers were baffled by Trump’s move to meet an army chief sans the country’s prime minister. It later emerged that the two discussed items like rare earth, minerals, cryptocurrency, and oil exploration, IMF loans, and obviously, the regional security matters. This meeting had happened in June, 2025.

Munir returned to Pakistan will all guns blazing.

In September, a second meeting with Munir happened in the White House that included Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Bilateral cooperation, and furthering of military and economic interests of the U.S. in the region were discussed.

Thanks to President Trump, Munir and his military got American (and the global) stamp of approval as the de facto rulers of Pakistan. Trump pegged tariff on Pakistani exports at a very low rate of just 19%. In contrast, the tariff on India continues to be 50%.

Spurred by such quick warming up of Pakistan -U.S. relations, development, gulf countries including Saudi Arabia befriended Munir proactively. Pakistan entered into security arrangements with some of them. The countries including even China stepped up their investments in the country that had long been treated as a poor cousin. Pakistan’s international profile got an unexpected boost.

Pakistani has an organization called SIFC (Special Investment Facilitation Council). It was created in 2023 to smoothen and even oversee all incoming foreign investments. From the start, ministers and civil servants worked jointly worked with senior military officers to run this very important body that that uses its sweeping powers to add momentum to the country’s economic growth. Traditionally, the military members’ views get precedence over that of their civilian counterparts in the affairs of the SIFC.

President Trump, known for his shrewdness, perhaps had this military dominance in mind while hosting Munir in White House. The keenness of Trump to have a friendly chat with Munir drove home the message – the military representatives in the Special Investment Facilitation Council will do their best to give priority to American interests in critical areas of the country’s economy and military policy.

For the conscientious citizens of Pakistan, their country was taking a regressive turn by prioritizing military over elected government. But they are well aware that their nation’s faltering economy warrants quick and decisive action. Thus, on the upside, military oversight does ensure swift amelioration as bureaucrats lose their efficiency through red-tapes. Tired of such hurdles and their country’s sluggish growth, the public welcomed the increasing involvement of their military (under Munir) in the Special Investment Facilitation Council. Similar space was ceded to Munir’s men in other areas of governance. Munir will surely enjoy such enhanced status, but he and his cohorts will have to face public questioning for all failures. Expediently, Munir will make Shehbaz Sharif to face the public when the going goes wrong.

The IMF, the permanent lifeline for the cash-strapped Pakistan, has come forward with another big loan offer. The Border Safety Organization of Pakistan has entered into a $500 million deal with an American company to export the much-needed rare earths to the U.S. Many more such deals are in the pipeline. These developments will surely infuse vitality to the country’s economy. The enfeebled economy will receive a boost. However, such dominance of Munir and his military in the country’s governance will do long term harm to the country’s democratic ambitions. Like a steroid brings instant relief, but harms the health on prolonged use, handing over the reins of power to military will stifle and even smother Pakistan’s democratic future. Trump and Munir would have been lost in the pages of history book by then.