From Dhaka 1971 to Peshawar 2026: How Pakistani Generals override democracy

From the report

On October 11, Pakistan’s federal government imposed emergency rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, suspendedthe Sohail Afridi-led provincial government of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, and placed the province under governor’s rule. President Asif Ali Zardari approved the Shehbaz Sharif government’s decision under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution of Pakistan, citing the provincial administration’s alleged failure to cooperate in the fight against terrorism. The move came as the PTImobilised supporters for a march demanding Imran Khan’s release from prison and restoration of the rule of law and constitutional supremacy across Pakistan.

The government took the pretext of a grave security problem in the province and the provincial government’s non-cooperation with the federal government in containing threats from militants in the region. But the timing of this move has raised several uncomfortable questions about the country’s democratic state of affairs and the role of the military establishment therein. The intervention in KP is the latest episode in which elected governments could be weakened or removed while the military retains the institutional power to shape the boundaries of civilian authority.

The role of Pakistan Army in the country’s politics cannot be understood simply as a succession of coups. Its influence has also operated through electoral alliances, intelligence networks, pressure on political parties and interventions that determine which civilian leaders can govern. While the coups allowed the military establishment to rule directly, they also facilitated the infiltration of military officials into civil administrations when the military was not in power.