The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin has once again revealed the reality of Pakistan’s power structure. A day after the conclusion of the gathering, Pakistan’s Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir on Tuesday met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, along with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
This was Munir’s first meeting with Xi since he became Field Marshal of Pakistan earlier this year. During his initial visit to China in July, Munir met Vice President Han Zheng but not President Xi, unlike his predecessor General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
While Shehbaz Sharif was nominally leading Pakistan’s delegation, it was Munir who gained the spotlight. He will attend China’s grand military parade on September 3, where Beijing will showcase its most modern weapons, including aerial, ground, missile and electronic systems. Pakistan’s military, which sources over 80 percent of its equipment from China, is watching closely.
Sharif, on the other hand, remained largely ignored during the SCO Summit. While leaders such as Xi Jinping met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other heads of state in prominent bilateral meetings, Shehbaz was left to the sidelines. Even his joint meeting with Xi was overshadowed by Munir’s presence.
This is not the first time Munir has taken centre stage over Pakistan’s elected head of government.
In July, he travelled to the United States and was hosted for lunch at the White House by President Donald Trump, a rare gesture that raised eyebrows in Beijing. Munir has already visited the US twice since taking over as Field Marshal. Crucially, Shehbaz Sharif was absent from these visits, underlining where real power lies in Pakistan.
During Tuesday’s meeting with Xi, China pushed Pakistan to ensure better safety for its projects and personnel. “China stands ready to work with Pakistan to build upgraded versions of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement, and hopes Pakistan will take effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan,” Xi was quoted as saying by state-run Xinhua.
Sharif tried to project relevance by praising Xi’s Global Governance Initiative. “It is of great significance for world peace, development and stability, and Pakistan will give it full support and work actively to implement it,” he said. But his words rang hollow in the face of Munir’s dominating presence.
The imbalance between Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership is not new. Since independence, successive prime ministers have been undermined, overruled or removed by the army, which has consistently positioned itself as the real power broker. From Ayub Khan to Zia-ul-Haq to Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s military has directly ruled for decades, while even in democratic periods the generals have dictated foreign and security policy. Shehbaz Sharif, like many of his predecessors, appears reduced to a rubber stamp.
Munir’s prominence at the SCO summit and his expected presence at China’s military parade are only the latest reminders of where power truly resides in Pakistan. For Beijing, Washington and others, the message is clear: Pakistan’s generals, not its elected leaders, are the ones worth engaging.
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