Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Facing threat to its very existence, terror-infested Pakistan is set to adopt a “hybrid” model of government, headed by none other than its self-decorated “Field Marshal” and Army chief, Syed Asim Munir, with his political toadies, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, sheepishly surrendering to this fait accompli for their own survival.
For, they are witness to former PM Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi facing dozens of court cases and imprisoned for over two years for crossing Munir’s lines.
Pakistan’s rubber-stamp Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had, in September, declared that Pakistan had a “hybrid” regime while a “deep state” rules the US.
Munir, who crowned himself as “Field Marsha” after losing Operation Sindoor against India in May 2025, will now wear another crown: Chief of Defence Forces (CDF).
Islamabad’s fresh decision, taken during fast-changing domestic and geopolitical environments, amid economic meltdown, surprised no one. The ‘failed’ state is already facing multiple terror attacks on a daily basis. But that has not stopped it from its own fourth experiment with ‘truth.’
The media reported that the fourth “coup” is underway in Islamabad. Unlike the three previous coup d’etat, however, the fourth will be coup de grace.
It will be the quietest and, unlike previous coups, a constitutional one, brought about with the help of a puppet regime.
The proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill, which the Senate passed in the National Assembly on Monday, legalises military supremacy, placing the chain of command, nuclear authority, and even the top judiciary under Asim Munir’s control. His power grab is significant for New Delhi because it creates a dangerous asymmetry with India where the civilian leadership has operational control of the defence forces, including nuclear assets.
Since 1947, Pakistan has been scarred by three military coups by Generals Ayub Khan (1958), Zia-ul-Haq (1977) and Pervez Musharraf (1999). The fourth “coup,” being staged by Asim Munir, might be the boldest consolidation of power ever by any military leader in Pakistan—something neither Zia nor Musharraf could pull off.
According to media reports, Munir has a ready accomplice aiding him in Pakistan’s “reforms,” Shehbaz Sharif, who is stage-managing this “constitutional coup.”
The Amendment Bill seeks to restructure the military hierarchy under Munir, with no date of his retirement, and eliminate rival positions. It reportedly also grants five-star generals like Munir immunity from all kinds of legal proceedings, Kabul-based TOLO News reported quoting a Pakistani journalist.
Pakistani lawyer Makhdoom Ali Khan wrote in the Karachi-based daily Dawn, that the amendment offers “a parallel authority insulated from the very rule of law it is sworn to defend.”
The past coups in Pakistan were rather ‘straightforward.’ For example, General Zia ul Haq seized power in 1977 by toppling Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s civilian regime amid street protests, imposing martial law that lasted a decade and Islamised even the judiciary.
General Musharraf followed suit in 1999, ousting his PM Nawaz Sharif in a non-violent coup, only to face impeachment and exile in 2008.
Military dictators Haq and Musharraf justified their acts as moves to fight corruption or restore stability in Pakistan, but they were eventually undone, and civilian rule returned.
Munir’s gambit, however, is subtle, and much more dangerous. It uses the same parliamentary process that Musharraf and Zia once undermined, turning Shehbaz Sharif—whose party, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), has often had a tense relationship with the army—into an accomplice.
The bill, amending Article 243 of the Constitution, formalises the army’s de facto dominance, shifting control from the President and the PM-led Cabinet to a new Chief of Defence Forces (CDF)—a role tailor-made for Munir, who was set to retire on November 28.
“This amendment appears tailored to benefit a specific individual rather than to strengthen the defence structure,” said Lt Gen Asif Yasin Malik (Retd), a former defence secretary, reported the Dawn.
The intended changes would break the balance between Pakistan’s military branches that have existed since the 1973 Constitution. The controversial Article 243 currently vests supreme command in the President, with operational control under the federal government.
The amendment scraps this, creating the CDF as the paramount authority over the army, navy, and air force. The amendment also coincides with the November 27 retirement of the current Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, dissolving that post entirely.
The CDF would oversee transfers, postings, and promotions across all branches of the armed forces, that alarms service chiefs. “By placing an army officer as the CDF with authority over the Air Force and Navy, the proposed system invites institutional imbalance and potential disaster,” Lt Gen Malik told Dawn.
The amendment establishes a Commander of the National Strategic Command, overseeing Pakistan’s atomic arsenal, appointed by the PM on the army chief’s recommendation, and restricted to army officers.
Most appalling ‘reforms’ in the proposed amendment are the clauses granting lifelong constitutional protections to five-star ranks—field marshal, marshal of the air force, or admiral of the fleet.
They would “retain rank, privileges, and remain in uniform for life,” removable only via impeachment akin to Article 47, with immunities mirroring the President’s under Article 248, Dawn wrote.
Pakistani journalist Imran Riaz Khan was quoted as saying: “Throughout his lifetime, no legal case can be filed against him (Munir); you cannot lodge any complaint. Meaning, Asim Munir can do whatever he wants during his life, even if he kills someone, commits rape, engages in oppression, or commits any other crime, the laws of Pakistan will never be able to take action against him, as he has been granted lifetime immunity.”
The amendment also captures judiciary in the military’s web. The Dawn commentary by Makhdoom Ali Khan dubbed an “obituary” for the Supreme Court and high courts as independent bulwarks.
The bill proposes transfer of constitutional benches’ case assignments from chief justices to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), where judges hold a minority.
The state, now more powerful than ever, will influence outcomes by assigning cases based on judges’ known preferences, while the threat of transfer hangs over them.
The Presidents will also gain unchecked power to shuffle high court judges across provinces. Even the Supreme Court judges will face purges via forced elevation to a new Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), where refusal means deemed retirement.
The FCC also takes over the Supreme Court’s key powers: handling constitutional appeals, disputes between provinces, protecting basic rights, and advising the President.
The Pakistan Supreme Court would essentially shrink to a “Supreme District and Sessions Court,” handling mere civil and criminal appeals.