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On December 4, 2025, Pakistan witnessed thing some acquainted and unsettling. Field Marshal Asim Munir was formally appointed the country’s archetypal Chief of Defence Force (CDF) portion inactive serving arsenic Chief of Army Staff (COAS). Recent law amendments handed him extended authority. Many analysts softly described it arsenic a soundless coup, arsenic nary subject connected the streets, nary melodramatic announcements, conscionable a dilatory tightening of control.
By precocious 2025, Pakistan had already experienced yet different displacement successful existent power. The 27th Amendment ushered successful ineligible immunity, curtailed judicial oversight, and centralised unprecedented authorization successful the hands of the subject leadership.
Gen. Asim Munir’s emergence did not hap overnight. After Operation Sindoor, wherever the nationalist was told that Pakistan gained the precocious manus against India, his stature grew. His meetings with satellite leaders, sometimes overshadowing the civilian Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, reinforced the content that Pakistan’s elected authorities was nary longer steering the ship.
The archetypal coup
Pakistan’s aboriginal years were turbulent. After Partition successful 1947, 7 Prime Ministers came and went wrong conscionable 11 years. Behind these governmental tremors laic a nine divided on ethnic, linguistic, and determination lines.
One of the large factors down governmental hostility was language. The founding fathers made Urdu the nationalist language, contemplating it to beryllium a unifying force. However, Urdu was spoken by lone 3-5% of the population. Bangla, connected the different hand, was the parent lingua of much than 50%. In 1952, wide protests erupted successful Dhaka demanding the designation of Bangla and protesting the systemic neglect of East Pakistan. This mobilisation connected linguistic grounds gradually led to the emergence of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman.
In 1958, a melodramatic confrontation betwixt Prime Minister Feroz Khan Noon and President Iskander Mirza opened the doorway for the military’s introduction into politics. Mirza dismissed the Prime Minister, imposed martial law, and appointed General Ayub Khan arsenic Chief Martial Law Administrator. Gen. Ayub had his ain ambitions. Within weeks, helium ousted Mirza, sent him abroad, and assumed control.
Gen. Ayub justified the takeover successful his governmental autobiography, Friends not Masters. “From a soldier’s position. There would beryllium large-scale disturbances crossed the country, and the civilian authority, already groaning nether the heels of politicians, would beryllium incapable of dealing with the situation. It was the Army unsocial that could measurement into the breach.” Thus, by imposing martial law, Gen. Ayub thought helium was shaping Pakistan’s destiny.
In 1959, Gen. Ayub declared himself Field Marshal without having won immoderate war. It was Field Marshal Ayub Khan, who aboriginal planned Operation Gibraltar and Grand Slam successful 1965. Operation Gibraltar was to invoke a section uprising successful Kashmir, portion Grand Slam aimed to seizure Akhnoor, which, according to him, was the “jugular vein of India”. These plans failed. The warfare that followed near Pakistan shaken, and Gen. Ayub politically susceptible and unpopular crossed the country.
From Ayub to Yahya Khan
As the 1960s drew to a close, Ayub’s regularisation became progressively fragile. Economic inequality grew, protests erupted, and the once-popular subject ruler recovered himself unwelcome connected the streets. In 1969, exhausted and isolated, helium handed powerfulness to different subject chief, General Yahya Khan.
Gen. Yahya presided implicit Pakistan’s archetypal wide elections successful 1970, a infinitesimal filled with promise. But erstwhile Sheikh Mujibur Rahman won a bulk successful East Pakistan, portion Zulfikar Ali Bhutto dominated the West, the subject and the West Pakistani elite refused to judge the antiauthoritarian outcome. What followed was brutal repression successful East Pakistan, a wide uprising, and yet the 1971 warfare with India that yet near Pakistan divided, with the emergence of Bangladesh. The decision and surrender successful Dhaka dealt a terrible stroke to Pakistan’s nationalist psyche. Facing nationalist choler and absorption wrong the army, Gen. Yahya stepped down successful December 1971.
The Zia years
As Pakistan attempted to rebuild, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto emerged arsenic the governmental leader. But adjacent Bhutto’s charisma and brilliance could not span Pakistan’s interior divides. His governmental benignant alienated assorted groups, particularly Urdu-speaking citizens who felt marginalised. Moreover, the disputed 1977 elections plunged the state into chaos.
At this juncture, Army Chief General Zia-ul-Haq seized powerfulness nether Operation Fair Play, ousted Bhutto, and aboriginal sent him to the gallows — a coiled that inactive aches successful Pakistan’s corporate memory.
Gen. Zia ruled for 11 years. Always smiling successful photographs, helium combined subject and ruthlessness. Under his regime, blasphemy laws were tightened, jihadist ideology took root, textbooks were rewritten, and opponents were crushed. Contrarily, Pakistan’s economical maturation improved, but Ayesha Siddiqa, in Military Inc., calls it “rentier economical growth,” fuelled by overseas assistance and the Afghan jihad alternatively than home strength. Smuggling networks, weapons trafficking, and informal markets flourished nether Gen. Zia. It was besides Gen. Zia who planned coercion successful Kashmir.
His decease successful a mysterious level clang successful 1988 ended an authoritarian era, but not the military’s clasp implicit Pakistan’s destiny.
A General arsenic Chief Executive
Benazir Bhutto won the 1988 elections, becoming the anticipation of a wounded nation. But the Army constitution soon clipped her wings, and her authorities fell wrong 2 years. The main crushed was that Benazir was asserting herself and processing differences with the past Army main Mirza Aslam Beg.
The 1990s saw a rhythm of anticipation and disappointment. Governments fell 1 aft different — Sharif, Benazir, Sharif again — arsenic Pakistan struggled to specify democracy. In 1999, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reached retired to India. The representation of Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s autobus rolling into Lahore inspired galore crossed South Asia. But portion the leaders extended hands of peace, the Pakistani Army was readying thing else. General Pervez Musharraf secretly launched Operation Koh-e-Paima (Kargil), hoping to prehend strategical heights successful Kashmir. This operation, carried retired during India’s bid efforts, damaged Pakistan’s credibility and destroyed spot betwixt Gen. Musharraf and Mr. Sharif. By October 1999, Gen. Musharraf overthrew the elected government.
Unlike past dictators, Gen. Musharraf presented himself arsenic a reformer,promoting media openness, decentralisation, and “enlightened moderation.” But beneath the modern veneer, the subject footprint remained strong. A bid of crises, the suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, the Lal Masjid siege, and Benazir’s tragic assassination eroded Gen. Musharraf’s support. His enactment collapsed successful the 2008 elections, and helium stepped aside.
From favourite to foe
Between 2008 and 2018, Pakistan saw 4 Prime Ministers — Yosuf Raza Gilani, Raja Pravez Ashraf, Nawaz Sharif, and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi — none completing a afloat term. The civilian–military hostility remained a defining diagnostic of governance.
In 2018, Imran Khan, erstwhile the Army’s favourite, roseate to powerfulness with promises of betterment and justice. Many successful the Pakistani service believed helium would beryllium different. But similar Bhutto and Mr. Nawaz, helium yet challenged the precise instauration that had helped elevate him. The infinitesimal helium tried to asseverate autonomy, helium faced resistance. Mr. Imran Khan became the archetypal Pakistani Prime Minister to beryllium removed done a no-confidence vote. Soon after, helium was entangled successful tribunal cases, his party’s predetermination awesome was stripped, and helium was jailed.
Yet successful the 2024 elections, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-backed independents won much than 90 seats, a testament to his enduring popularity. Even so, a conjugation led by Shehbaz Sharif, supported implicitly by the Army, formed the government.
Mr. Imran Khan remains fashionable but powerless, a reminder that successful Pakistan, nationalist enactment unsocial does not warrant governmental survival.
Why the signifier persists
Since its birth, Pakistan’s civilian governments person struggled to power the state. The aboriginal nonaccomplishment of Jinnah, heavy taste and linguistic divides, corruption, radicalisation, geopolitical entanglements, and the persistent weakness of civilian institutions person each allowed the subject to look arsenic the country’s astir cohesive and almighty organisation.
The emergence of Gen. Asim Munir is, therefore, not extraordinary. It is simply different section successful the aforesaid story.
Until Pakistan rebuilds its governmental institutions, heals its interior divides, and strengthens civilian governance, the rhythm volition continue, and the subject volition stay the shadiness down each authorities — silent, steady, and ever present.
Dhananjay Tripathi Teaches International Relations and Tabshir Shams is Pursuing his MA successful International Relations, South Asian University, New Delhi
