The failed Marshal Doctrine

None of Pakistan's Prime Ministers has lasted five years. The fact that the current PM has given Asim Munir five years shows that of all the military dictatorships history has seen, Pakistan's is the most creative

- SHEKHAR GUPTA

Twentieth century onwards, the world has seen numerous uniformed dictators. No country, however, has produced as much innovation in military rule as Pakistan.

The latest, now that the notification anointing Asim Munir Army Chief and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) for five years has been issued, is the most breathtaking. Any Pakistani cadet who steps into the academy can aspire to become the country’s ruler. Yet, Gen Munir has now pulled a stunning innovation, incredible even by Pakistan Army’s standards.

See it this way. None of Pakistan's 23 Prime Ministers in 75 years (Liaquat Ali Khan was the first in 1950) has completed a five-year term because the army wouldn’t let them. And yet Gen Munir has got his current prime minister to appoint him CDF for five years.

It isn’t an irony or absurdity to laugh at. This is a military dictatorship’s innovation equivalent to the best that Tesla or Palantir might achieve in tech domains. First, Gen Munir persuaded the Sharifs to appoint him chief a day before his retirement, while the incumbent (Qamar Javed Bajwa) was still in service. As a result, Pakistan had two serving chiefs for two days. Now, his three-year tenure ended on November 28, so he retired that day, but continued to be chief nevertheless for almost a week when the notification appointing him CDF and army chief was issued. I presume it is retrospective; otherwise some auditor might object to his salary for the days in between when he had no job. Of course, it will be a recklessly cheeky auditor.