Islamabad, Sep 5 (IANS) Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir’s foreign legitimacy cannot indefinitely mask Pakistan’s domestic weakness. The stronger Munir becomes personally, the more the country’s successes and failures become tied to his leadership, a report has stated.
Economic distress in Pakistan can no longer be treated simply as the government’s problem, while internal security failures are increasingly difficult to blame on civilian incompetence when the military exercises such sweeping influence over national security.
Political repression, meanwhile, is becoming increasingly associated with the army chief who oversees the system, a report in 'One World Outlook' detailed.
According to the report, Pakistan remains economically constrained and politically divided, relying increasingly on coercive measures to project an image of stability. Meanwhile, militancy continues to challenge the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.
The report noted that ties with Iran remain far more strained than official diplomatic rhetoric indicates. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, it said, continues to command political influence despite being in prison. More significantly, for Munir, decisions within the military leadership could create a growing pool of disgruntled Generals.
Emphasising that military power can reshape Pakistan’s politics, the report said, it cannot change the country’s underlying realities.
“For all the discussion of economic stabilisation, Pakistan remains heavily dependent upon external financing, remittances and repeated assistance from international institutions and friendly governments. The IMF continues to demand reforms precisely because the underlying weaknesses that repeatedly produce Pakistani crises have not disappeared,” One World Outlook report mentioned.
“Circular debt in the energy sector remains enormous. The tax base remains inadequate. Exports remain insufficiently diversified. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) remains weak relative to Pakistan’s requirements. State-owned enterprises continue to consume resources. Governance problems make implementation substantially harder than announcing reform. This produces an unusual political economy,” it added.
The report highlighted that the Pakistani state wields considerable power to imprison political opponents, yet repeatedly falls short when confronting influential tax-evading constituencies.
“It can regulate television channels more effectively than electricity losses. It can mobilise enormous security resources but struggles to undertake the mundane institutional reforms required for sustained economic growth. That imbalance matters because authoritarian systems depend upon performance as much as coercion. If citizens believe that political restrictions are accompanied by economic stability, the bargain can survive. When political restrictions coexist with inflation, unemployment, taxation, expensive energy, and deteriorating public services, coercion must progressively do more of the work,” it mentioned.
--IANS
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