Editorial: Pakistan edges toward autocracy

• Pakistan has taken a clear and decisive step towards a new arrangement in which the country’s military head gets unprecedented powers and immunity under a new constitutional amendment. All along, the military, in cahoots with the so-called “deep state”, either overtly seized power through coups or covertly pulled strings like a puppeteer. Now, it has managed to co-opt the political establishment into being content to be a co-passenger and hand over the steering wheel and the reins of power to the military through due parliamentary process, however sham it is. While it is obvious that the country is heading towards an autocratic rule, some analysts think it is good that the mask is off. Pro-establishment voices are calling it an important and much-needed reform that will provide the clarity to enable effective governance. In India and elsewhere, there are always sections of people who enthusiastically advocate and support dictatorship, especially by the military, to solve messy systemic problems which they believe are due to “excessive freedom and too much democracy”.

The 27th constitutional amendment, signed into law recently, has presented to the world a new playbook, an irresistible modus operandi that every strong-arm leader, either from politics or from the armed forces, would gleefully lap up — a “legitimate” power-sharing arrangement where political entities volunteer to play the second fiddle. It also does not augur well for the country’s democracy, as a new Federal Constitutional Court will undermine the traditional, occasionally assertive judicial system and, in turn, the wider checks and balances mechanism. Added to this, the immunity being granted to Asim Munir and others, it will be nearly impossible to hold anyone accountable. The amendment effectively defangs two pillars of government – the legislature and the judiciary.

The amendment enables concentration of enormous power in one person – that is, army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir as Chief of Defence Forces – while reducing the government’s oversight over armed forces. That he gets to control the nuclear arsenal will be a cause of major worry to India, given the strained relations between the two countries. Ideally, political, bureaucratic and military systems should be a part of a layered nuclear command system to ensure the required restraint while being agile and responsive.

The recent development in the neighbouring country should ring alarm bells in New Delhi. Armed with new powers, Asim Munir could hatch new plans to foment trouble in Kashmir. In the event of retaliation, Pakistan would be in a better position to respond. Though India could claim victory in Operation Sindoor, it did embolden Pakistan as it received the support of the US and China, which could tacitly support the hybrid model, as it is likely to benefit them. Needless to say, India needs to keep a close eye on changing power dynamics and how they will pan out. New Delhi needs to be wary of US President Donald Trump, who can muddy the waters, stump India by blowing hot and cold, making unpredictably outrageous statements, besides let Islamabad hobnob with Washington. In the backdrop of Operation Sindoor and the recent bomb blasts in the heart of the national capital, India needs to adopt bipartisanship in foreign policy, improve its intelligence mechanism for internal and external security, tweak its border management strategy, and flaunt its military preparedness and strike capabilities to deter any plans of misadventure by Pakistan.