In 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that India's biggest problem in its relationship with Pakistan is to determine "who is actually running" the country.
"Whom will you talk to... with the Army, with the ISI? Or, with an elected body? The leaders told me, 'We ourselves don't know who runs that country'," PM Modi had said during an interview.
The Prime Minister was outlining a dilemma that has long hindered Pakistan’s ability to maintain stable diplomatic relations with the international community.
Is it the "elected" civilian government that runs Pakistan or the deep state involving the military and ISI? For a country ruled by the military for nearly half of its independent history, its democratic identity is bound to be viewed through a sceptical lens. However, Pakistan's army chief Gen Asim Munir—also its second ever Field Marshal—is on a mission to clear the air about who forms the country's power nucleus.
Ever since India's military escalation with Pakistan, Munir has become the heroic poster boy of the country. So much so that there are loud murmurs in Islamabad that Munir may assume the presidency for himself—a very real possibility considering Pakistan's chequered past.
Munir is the diplomat-in-chief
However, Munir's recent actions suggest that he doesn't have to displace a sitting President to rule the country. The Pakistan army chief has launched a new doctrine of power which has effectively subverted the incumbent civilian government and established the military, particularly Munir, as the real ruler of the country.
The message for the world was loud and clear when Munir, along with military generals, met US President Donald Trump in Washington recently just weeks after Pakistan and India came close to a full-scale war. That it wasn't the civilian government but the army chief representing the country's interest at one of the most significant meetings for Pakistan made it crystal clear that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is just a prop in Islamabad.
Munir also met with overseas Pakistanis in Washington, appealing for their economic support while positioning the military as the direct facilitator of development. The message was unmistakable: in the new Pakistan, business and diplomacy flow through GHQ.
Growing financial clout
It wasn't just the Trump meeting where Munir emerged as the real head of Pakistan. Several such instances have happened in recent months, indicating that the military is now directly in charge of every aspect of governance—economic, industrial, and diplomatic—without holding any elected office.
Munir’s growing clout has not gone unnoticed in Pakistan’s business circles. In recent months, he has personally met with top industrialists and business leaders, assuring them of the army’s full support in efforts to revive the economy.
Recently, a delegation led by Gohar Ijaz and FPCCI President Atif Ikram Sheikh met Munir at the General Headquarters. A statement released after the meeting effusively praised the general: “Under Field Marshal Asim Munir’s guidance, we are confident Pakistan can unlock its full potential, restore investor confidence, and achieve inclusive economic growth.”
The army chief was also widely credited for the recent surge in the Pakistan Stock Exchange, which hit an all-time high after what business leaders described as Munir’s “verbal commitment and institutional support” for economic revival.
The textile sector too has publicly endorsed his leadership, with the Pakistani textile body and other industry heads attributing improved conditions directly to his decisions.
The economic intervention is part of a broader framework informally dubbed the “Munir doctrine,” under which the military has laid out plans to attract foreign investment, overhaul the Federal Board of Revenue, document the informal economy, privatize state-owned enterprises and exploit Pakistan’s mineral wealth.
High-profile military crackdowns
Between 2024 and 2025, Pakistan’s army under Munir also led high-profile crackdowns against dollar smuggling, electricity theft and market hoarding.
The actions were clearly a tool for political consolidation and public posturing—bolstering the military’s image as the only functioning institution amid a weak and fragmented civilian leadership.
A key instrument in this evolving power structure is the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), which Munir directly oversees.
The council has taken charge of everything from negotiating with international investors to overseeing structural reforms—an outsized role for what is nominally a coordination body. In practice, SIFC is functioning as an alternative economic command center, bypassing civilian ministries entirely.
Thus, in a country where elected finance ministers often serve at the pleasure of Rawalpindi, Munir’s overt control over economic planning is being viewed by many as a new phase of military-led governance—this time without even the pretense of civilian cover.
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