Pakistan expanded the power of its army chief at a critical moment for the country’s national security.
Syed Asim Munir will now command all three branches of the military and has lifelong legal immunity. The move to constitutionalize his authority “collides with… the fragile equilibrium between civilian and military power,” Pakistani outlet Dawn wrote. Critics said it reflected a slide toward authoritarianism, but Islamabad argued it was necessary following a brief armed conflict with India in May.
Bombings in both countries this week raised tensions, and Pakistanis “fear a multifront conflict,” an expert wrote, pointing to border clashes with Afghanistan. By contrast, Islamabad has turned around its rocky relationship with Washington; President Donald Trump called Munir his “favorite field marshal.”