Beneath Pakistan’s proclaimed stability lies a precarious military stranglehold, perilously detached from public sentiment, a fresh report contends. Imtiaz Gul details for East Asia Forum how 2025 solidified army preeminence, discarding hybrid pretenses for overt control that inspires little confidence.
Institutions crumbled: justice impaired, legislature diminished, elected voices muted to obedience. The 2024-tainted assembly’s bulk cozied to barracks. Reforms codified power transfer to troops, exalting ‘stability’ above democratic vitality.
Ex-PM Imran Khan’s purge worsened. Imprisoned on purportedly fabricated charges from 2023, he ignited strife. Fans sought succor from Trump-linked U.S. lawmakers early on, but tides turned against them. UN torture expert flagged Adiala Jail horrors in late 2025.
President Trump’s anointing of General Munir as favorite quashed PTI dreams of bailout. 180+ legal assaults post-2022 removal persist. Amid superpower clashes, Pakistan’s brass meshes with American needs, blunting scrutiny of autocracy and abuses.
Ultimately, warns the piece, suppressing Pakistan’s chronic grievances risks erupting into mayhem. The regime’s self-deceptive order, unmoored from popular legitimacy, marches toward self-inflicted turmoil.