The power of the Pakistani Army has expanded further as its influence is now even greater than the elected civilian government. The power of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir Ahmed Shah, the Army Chief of Pakistan, has increased even more. The Shehbaz Sharif Government recently appointed the Field Marshal as the first-ever Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), a newly created and powerful military position, of the nuclear-armed South Asian nation, putting the Army Chief at the helm of all three services for a period of five years.

Despite initial objections, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif was forced to promote Munir who has become the most powerful person in the country in recent times. According to sources close to Islamabad, President Asif Ali Zardari, who is desperate to stay in power without inciting the Army, has also agreed to Munir’s appointment as CDF, following the 27th Constitutional Amendment that significantly reshaped the military and judiciary, creating the post of CDF for the Army Chief, granting him lifelong immunity and control, while weakening the Supreme Court by establishing a new, executive-controlled Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) to oversee constitutional matters and transfer of judges. With this, Pakistan has solidified the disturbing dominance of its Army over the civilian government.

Since becoming the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) in November 2022, Munir has been actively supporting the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI, the primary military intelligence agency of Pakistan) and anti-India militant outfits to increase his power. On April 22, 2025, The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the well-known Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), perpetrated a devastating attack in Pahalgam (India), killing 26 innocent tourists in cold blood after segregating them based on their religion. In response, India executed Operation Sindoor on the night of May 7-8, 2025. The response was non escalatory, precise and targeted terrorist training camps at nine different locations within Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.

Although no military targets were engaged by India, Pakistan launched coordinated drone and missile strikes in the early hours of May 8, targeting over a dozen of Indian military installations across the northern and western parts of the country. Following these provocations, India conducted precision strikes against Pakistani Air Defence systems at a number of locations as those strikes were deliberately confined to the neutralisation of systems that had facilitated the earlier Pakistani assault and were executed under the guiding principle of “equal intensity in the same domain”. Thereafter, Munir became more powerful in Pakistan.

General Munir was promoted to Field Marshal on May 20, 2025, becoming Pakistan’s second officer to hold the rank after Ayub Khan, as Islamabad recognised his leadership during the recent conflict with India and consolidating military authority. Later, his multiple meetings with US President Donald John Trump made the general even more powerful. In November 2025, the Shahbaz Sharif Government amended the Constitution to grant lifelong immunity from criminal and administrative charges to high-ranking military officers, including Field Marshal Munir. Reports suggest that Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif intentionally distanced himself from the process to avoid formally endorsing Munir’s elevation – an appointment that placed control of the country’s nuclear arsenal under the new military-led command structure. However, he has lost the tug of war with the Army Chief.

On December 4, 2025, Field Marshal Munir became the CDF and also got control of his country’s nuclear arsenal, as well as missile systems. With this, he became the single most powerful military figure in Pakistan. Political analysts are of the opinion that the expansion of Munir’s authority would certainly put the Government of Pakistan under tremendous pressure. Ayyaz Mallick, a Lecturer in Human Geography, specialising in Pakistan, at the University of Liverpool, has stressed: “It’s military rule, martial law by any other name. During direct forms of military rule in Pakistan, we saw exactly the same thing happen.” For his part, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, the Chair of the opposition alliance known as Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan, has stated: “There is no Constitution in Pakistan now. No judiciary. No social contract. The amendment is an unforgivable crime against the country. They have made one man into a king above all.”

Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi, the jailed former Prime Minister of Pakistan, recently accused Field Marshal Munir of deliberately inflaming friction with neighbouring Afghanistan and India. The 73-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician wrote in a social media post: “Asim Munir’s policies are disastrous for Pakistan. Because of his policies, terrorism has spiralled out of control that grieves me deeply.” He added: “Asim Munir has no concern for Pakistan’s national interests. He is doing all this merely to please Western powers. He deliberately ignited tensions with Afghanistan so that he could be seen internationally as a so-called ‘mujahid’ (Islamic fighter).“

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das