Inside Pakistan’s power reset: How Asim Munir’s new military order collides with Imran Khan crisis

Pakistan’s military power reset explained

Pakistan has been gripped by intense speculation over the fate of former prime minister Imran Khan, with widespread rumours claiming he has been tortured, seriously injured or even killed inside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail. While authorities continue to insist that he is “safe and secure”, they have neither produced him in public nor allowed family members or lawyers to meet him, despite court orders. That silence has only deepened public distrust.

The information blackout has coincided with an unprecedented security build-up around the prison. Intelligence officials told News18 that the jail “could be attacked anytime”, triggering the deployment of around 2,500 additional security personnel. New check-posts have been established across Rawalpindi, including in the Dahgal area, around multiple prison gates, Factory Naka and the Gorakhpur belt.

Police and paramilitary forces are now in full anti-riot gear, equipped with rubber and live ammunition, tear-gas launchers, shields and batons. Similar security alerts are in force at Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore and Mach Central Jail near Quetta, where other leaders and activists of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) are being held.

All this unfolds as PTI prepares nationwide protests outside Adiala Jail and the Islamabad High Court, while the single question dominating public discourse grows louder: “Where is Imran Khan?”

A system once built for accountability

In a functioning constitutional democracy, harm to a former prime minister in state custody would almost automatically trigger an inquiry that could travel up the entire security chain of command. In Pakistan today, however, that chain effectively ends with a figure whose authority has just been entrenched in the Constitution itself: Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.

On 27 November, Munir assumed charge as Pakistan’s first Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), a post created through the controversial 27th Amendment to the 1973 Constitution. The amendment was rushed through Parliament in mid-November and signed into law by President Asif Ali Zardari the same day. Its impact goes far beyond a simple military reshuffle. It fundamentally reorders power, oversight and accountability at the very top of the state.

What the 27th amendment changed

At the core of the amendment is a complete restructuring of Pakistan’s top defence architecture. Article 243 has been amended to establish the office of Chief of Defence Forces, a new apex military post that is permanently tied to the serving army chief. The CDF now commands all three services and formally outranks the heads of the air force and navy.

The long-standing post of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, which functioned as a coordinating role since the 1970s, has been abolished following the retirement of General Sahir Shamshad Mirza on 27 November.

This represents a decisive shift of control away from the President and Cabinet and directly into the hands of the army chief. For the first time, Pakistan’s military hierarchy places the army unambiguously at the apex by constitutional design.

The amendment also restructures authority over Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. It creates a new post — Commander of the National Strategic Command — appointed by the prime minister, but only on the advice of the army chief or CDF and solely from among army generals. This effectively consolidates decisive control of nuclear command within the army itself.

Alongside structural change, the amendment introduces sweeping personal protections for the top military leadership. Five-star officers — including Field Marshal, Marshal of the Air Force and Admiral of the Fleet — are guaranteed lifelong retention of rank, privileges and uniform. Their removal now requires a process akin to impeachment, demanding a two-thirds parliamentary majority.

Crucially, these officers gain lifetime constitutional immunity from criminal prosecution and civil proceedings for acts performed while in office, unless Parliament first strips that protection. The legal shield goes further than that available to the president or prime minister.

The judiciary reshaped

The 27th Amendment also forms part of a broader remodelling of Pakistan’s judicial landscape. It establishes a Federal Constitutional Court to hear all constitutional matters, including disputes between the federation and provinces. This strips the Supreme Court of its traditional role as the final arbiter of constitutional interpretation.

The head of this new court outranks the Chief Justice of Pakistan in protocol and serves until the age of 68 — three years longer than a Supreme Court judge. Earlier changes had already weakened the Supreme Court’s powers, including its authority to take suo motu notice.

Several judges who had clashed with the government or challenged military influence have already stepped aside or warned that the Supreme Court has been effectively “abolished” in its earlier form. The consequence is a system where any legal challenge to military-backed constitutional changes becomes far harder to sustain.

Munir’s new power as chief of defence forces

Within this redesigned order, Asim Munir’s authority now extends well beyond that of a conventional army chief. He has been promoted to Field Marshal and granted a fresh five-year term as Chief of Defence Forces. Before this amendment, his tenure had already been extended from the customary three years to five, until November 2027. The CDF role resets the clock, ensuring his dominance of the military structure at least until 2030, with future extensions possible.

Key appointments, including the planned Vice Chief of Army Staff post, now flow through his recommendations before receiving civilian approval. Combined with formal control over nuclear command, this places unprecedented power in a single office.

His five-star rank also brings with it the lifetime constitutional immunity laid out in the amendment. Even after stepping down from active command, Munir will retain his rank, privileges and legal protection unless Parliament manages to overturn it with a two-thirds majority.

Why Imran Khan’s fate now intersects with constitutional power

It is this fusion of authority and immunity that makes the 27th Amendment central to the question of Imran Khan’s safety. If the alarming rumours surrounding Adiala Jail were to be confirmed — if Khan were to be seriously harmed or worse — public outrage would inevitably focus on who controlled the security apparatus and who stood to benefit from his prolonged isolation.

In earlier phases of Pakistan’s political history, such a crisis could have forced investigations reaching into the highest military and civilian offices. Under the new arrangement, that pathway is largely sealed off. Any legal attempt to challenge Munir’s role would collide with the constitutional immunity granted to five-star officers. Any constitutional challenge to the amendment itself would now be heard by a newly created court shaped by the same political forces that enacted it.

In effect, the 27th Amendment has been designed to ensure that even a seismic political shock — including potential custodial harm to Pakistan’s most popular opposition leader — would not seriously threaten the man at the apex of the security system.

While the streets simmer with uncertainty over Imran Khan’s condition and Adiala Jail remains sealed under extraordinary security, the Constitution has already been rewritten to place Asim Munir almost entirely beyond reach.