Islamabad: Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir must introspect the adverse impact of his actions on Pakistan instead of celebrating the statistics and issuing threats, a report has stated.
After becoming Pakistan’s Army Chief, General Munir showed his true colours by manipulating the General Elections in 2024 to put in place the government of his choice, allowing him to further strengthen his own position. He also promoted himself to the rank of Field Marshal by subverting the constitution through an amendment that made him the most powerful person in Pakistan, a report in Eurasia Review detailed.
“Thanks to the 27th constitutional amendment, Pakistan’s self-promoted Field Marshal has by the virtue of being nominated as the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) become the de facto overall commander of Pakistan’s armed forces. This amendment also provides him lifelong immunity against legal prosecution which is something unheard of in a democracy since it confers unfettered authority on the CDF sans any accountability,” retired Indian Army Officer Nilesh Kunwar wrote in Eurasia Review.
Providing immunity against legal prosecution for life to an individual is against the principle of equality before law. This situation is dangerous as sweeping powers and lack of accountability encourages brash behaviour and Munir’s decision to cross swords with Afghanistan is one such example.
“Even if Islamabad’s claim that Kabul is providing sanctuary to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan [TTP] terrorists is true, being a very senior army officer, CDF Munir would definitely be aware that airstrikes against alleged TTP sanctuaries inside Afghanistan would materially achieve precious little in military terms. He also must have known very well that such attacks would only bring Kabul and TTP closer, compounding problems along the Durand Line,” Nilesh Kanwar wrote in a report in Eurasia Review.
According to Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan reported 71 per cent of terrorism-related incidents that took place in Pakistan in 2025. The armed struggle in Balochistan has intensified significantly and Munir’s more than a year-old “we will beat the hell out of these terrorists (Baloch fighters) very soon” statement has turned out to be a damp squib.
Munir has launched a reign of terror against Baloch people by kidnapping and extrajudicially killing them. Under Munir’s leadership, the already severely restricted space for freedom of expression in Pakistan has been further curtailed in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) due to which unrest is once again brewing in the region.
“Therefore, rather than celebrating statistics and issuing threats right, left and center, it would do Field Marshal Munir a lot of good if he took some time off to dispassionately introspect on the adverse impact of his actions on Pakistan. While concealing the Pakistan army’s abysmal failure to wipe out terrorism by blaming India and Afghanistan for the same may serve as a temporary diversion, Field Marshal Munir may like to reflect on Abraham Lincoln’s seminal observation-‘you can’t fool all the people all the time’,” Kunwar mentioned.
(IANS)
