Pakistan’s military tightens iron grip on power as judiciary authority dims

WASHINGTON – Pakistan’s passage of a landmark Bill last week has effectively made its already powerful army chief untouchable for life, granting him unprecedented immunity from prosecution and placing him beyond civilian and military law.

The Parliament

approved a constitutional amendment

on Nov 12 that not only grants Field Marshal (FM) Asim Munir, 57, lifelong immunity from criminal charges but also extends his tenure by five years. This effectively allows him to remain in uniform indefinitely.

The amendment has also radically reshaped Pakistan’s judiciary, critics warn. The creation of a Federal Constitutional Court effectively strips power from the Supreme Court and allows the government to tighten its grip on constitutional rulings through handpicked judicial appointments.

For a nation that has spent about half of its 77 years of independence from British rule under direct military rule – and much of the rest under the influence of its generals – analysts say the development is likely to push Pakistan’s already fragile democracy further towards entrenched militarisation.

With Pakistan at war with Islamist militants and ethnic Baloch separatists, the amendment is also likely to keep domestic politics and regional volatility locked in stasis.

It reinforces a security-first governance model, where political decision-making, resource allocation and civilian authority are subordinated to counter-insurgency priorities. While many analysts argue that political dialogue, particularly with the Baloch insurgents, could help de-escalate tensions, the militarised approach is expected to persist and may further intensify the conflict.

As a result, domestic politics remains largely paralysed. Civilian institutions have little space to influence policy, with the military invoking persistent security threats to justify its dominance and maintain firm control over the state.

“It is complete military dominance now, although we already knew it as the ‘hybrid system’ in which the civilian government had limited space,” said Dr Nausheen Wasi, an assistant professor in international relations at the University of Karachi.

The new law, under the 27th amendment to the Constitution, centres on FM Munir – a household name in Pakistan, who gained international prominence in May during Operation Bunyan-ul-Marsoos. Billed as a show of military preparedness, the operation was launched in retaliation for Indian strikes on Pakistani airbases with drones and ballistic missiles.

That brief conflict was seen as instrumental in his elevation as field marshal on May 20 in recognition of his leadership during the operation, just three years after he became army chief in 2022. His rise to the top military post is widely seen as a recognition of his strategic discipline and counter-terrorism credentials. 

‘Coup in disguise’

Critics, however, see him as the face of deepening military dominance and shrinking civilian authority in Pakistan. 

“FM Munir’s ascent has taken Pakistan back to the dynamics of 1958, when General Ayub Khan seized power to become the country’s first military ruler,” said Dr Tauseef Ahmed Khan, a human rights activist and author, drawing the parallel to Pakistan’s first coup. 

The amendment was pushed through by the ruling coalition of the Pakistan Muslim League and the Pakistan People’s Party despite loud protests from opposition lawmakers, who walked out and denounced the amendment as a “coup in disguise”.

It has also sparked a backlash from the judiciary, legal bodies and civil society, furious at the erosion of what remains of civilian authority. Two Supreme Court judges resigned in protest.

“(The amendment is) a direct attack on judicial independence, parliamentary supremacy and federalism,” the Sindh Bar Council, an apex body of lawyers in the southern Sindh province, said on Nov 11, a day before the amendment was passed.

Pakistan’s incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan directly linked the changes to FM Munir’s expanding authority. 

Khan was removed from office in 2022 through a parliamentary no-confidence vote, widely believed to have been engineered by the military.

“There is no rule of the Constitution or the law in our country currently,” he said. “Instead, it is under the rule of ‘Asim Law’.”

Foreign policy: Major shifts unlikely

The shift also raises questions about how Pakistan’s foreign relations will evolve under a more assertive military command, though experts do not foresee any significant change in the country’s overall foreign policy posture. 

“Pakistan’s foreign policy towards India and Afghanistan has long been under military control, that is an open secret,” observed Dr Wasi. “Civilian governments, which I would argue have never truly existed in Pakistan, have never shaped these policies. In that sense, the situation is likely to continue as before.” 

The military empowerment, however, would catalyse some technical changes. 

“The technical aspect of the situation is that the war tactics have evolved. What is in vogue today are coordinated policies rather than separate, isolated approaches – a shift that will further consolidate military empowerment,” Dr Wasi said. 

Pakistan is unlikely to face any disruption in its close relationships with both the US and China, the rival superpowers that largely shape its geopolitical trajectory. 

Dr Muhammad Azeem, an associate professor of law at Lahore University of Management Sciences, said: “The US has traditionally dealt with Pakistan through military means.”

US President Donald Trump has recently lavished praise on FM Munir, calling him “a very important figure in Pakistan” and his “favourite field marshal”, a highly unusual level of public reverence from a US president towards a foreign military chief.  

China, meanwhile, has been pursuing the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, part of its global Belt and Road Initiative. The projects in Pakistan are overseen by the military and security forces, which are engaged in repelling the anti-Chinese insurgents in the western Balochistan province.  

For decades, Pakistan’s army has been accused of dominating civilian governments from behind the scenes. This latest constitutional amendment is seen as a continuation of that pattern.

Dr Azeem said: “It merely reinforces the dominance of the military, further weakens the power of the judiciary and destroys any independent role of civilian institutions, especially the Parliament.”