Washington has spent years calling Pakistan a “strategic partner.” Last week, that partner rewrote its Constitution in a way that removes civilian checks, sidelines the Supreme Court, elevates the military command structure, and shields top officials from prosecution for life. The response from the United States and Europe has been silence.
The amendment pushed through both chambers of parliament at unusual speed, restructures Pakistan’s armed forces under a single commander, creates a parallel constitutional court that absorbs the Supreme Court’s authority, centralizes financial controls, and grants lifelong legal immunity to presidents and senior generals. Opposition members walked out. Protests erupted. None of it slowed the process.
This wasn’t presented to the public. It wasn’t debated. Legal bodies outside the ruling coalition didn’t review it. It moved like a controlled operation designed to prevent interference, and it succeeded.
The result is straightforward: Pakistan now has a constitutional framework that strengthens military dominance, weakens judicial independence, and concentrates national power in the hands of a few senior figures. It happened in full view of Western governments that routinely lecture other nations about the rule of law.
What follows is a breakdown of the amendment, the players behind it, and the consequences for a nuclear-armed state that just rewired its political structure without democratic consent.
On November 10, the Senate passed the 27th Amendment.
On November 12, the National Assembly rubber-stamped it.
On November 13, the Senate approved the updated version.
Now it only needs the president’s signature, a formality.
Inside this amendment are the real shockwaves:
1. A New Supreme Military Commander Above All Forces
“Chief of Defence Forces.”
This single officer will command the army, navy, and air force together, something that has never been done in Pakistan’s history.
The timing is not accidental:
The existing chairman retires on November 27.
The new commander will be… the current Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Translation:
One man now controls Pakistan’s entire war machine.
For a nuclear-armed country surrounded by crises, that’s consolidation of power.
Aynaz, You might be living outside the US. Of course, you should realize that we do not get any real news here. But unfortunately, even if you spend much of the day poring over the blogs to glean the truth, I think most people — Christians, Jews, nearly everyone, does not actually want to know the truth. People here in the US generally prefer to live in a bubble. Even if one person cares, he doesn’t want to offend the rest of his family, who live in willful ignorance. (and they live in fear of offending their neighbors and friends).
It is like 1984 here.
Shalom shalom.
As well as the racism of low expectations. Hence, the Western triple standard.
Dec. 12, 2014
https://www.jpost.com/diplomatic-conference/danish-ambassador-jposts-caroline-glick-exchange-verbal-blows-over-eu-attitude-toward-israel-384438
So, WHY did they do this?
Better chance of starting and winning a war with India, with Afghanistan?
Turning the country into an Iran type religious theocracy?
What’s the purpose.
Good question.