Lahore
In Pakistan, a fourth coup is seemingly underway. It’s the quietest one, and unlike most coups—takeovers at midnight, or with guns. This time, it’s constitutional with the help of a puppet regime. This soft coup would hollow out Pakistan further from within. The proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment, which was passed by the Senate, legalises military supremacy, placing the chain of command, nuclear authority, and even the judiciary under Field Marshal Asim Munir’s control. Munir’s power grab is significant for New Delhi because it creates a dangerous asymmetry with India, where the civilian leadership has the operational control of the defence forces.
Pakistan has been scarred by three military coups since its formation, by Generals Ayub Khan (1958), Zia-ul-Haq (1977) and Pervez Musharraf (1999). But a fourth coup, being staged by Asim Munir, might be the boldest consolidation of power by any military leader in Pakistan—something which both Zia and Musharraf couldn’t pull off.
The Constitutional Amendment seeks to restructure the military hierarchy under Munir and eliminate rival positions. It reportedly also grants five-star generals like himself immunity from all kinds of legal proceedings, according to Pakistani journalist Imran Riaz Khan. A distinguished Pakistani lawyer, Makhdoom Ali Khan, writing for the Karachi-based daily Dawn, described the amendment as a parallel authority insulated from the very rule of law it is sworn to defend.
