Pakistan's Military Bureaucracy

The Executive is a branch of government that is responsible for the implementation of laws and policies passed by the legislature. It is headed by the prime minister, constitutionally designated as the Chief Executive. It includes members of enforcement agencies such as the police and civil & military bureaucracy.
In order to avoid corruption and absolute domination by any single branch of government, power is shared equally by the three branches. This phenomenon, referred to as the separation of powers in a government, serves as a regulatory mechanism of checks and balances to ensure accountability.

True separation of powers, sadly, has never been achieved in Pakistan. Historical trends suggest that an autocratic regime has emerged in Pakistan from the very beginning and it has taken our civil society’s best efforts to keep it at bay.

The Pakistan Armed Forces is an executive organization that is subordinate to the Ministry of Defense, currently headed by Khwaja Asif. However, historically the ambit of its power has been overdeveloped and it enjoys autonomy that is unparalleled in Pakistan’s government set up. The army, headed by the commander-in-chief, has the authority to declare an emergency and suspend the constitution. This is a clear encroachment on the powers of the legislature and has been a hallmark of the Pakistan army that has hijacked democracy on three separate occasions in the past.

In this manner, the army has become a powerful organization that heavily influences Pakistan’s policy, a task beyond the scope of its jurisdiction. It also manages to get away with virtually anything without any repercussions from the elected government, e.g. oppressing the people of Balochistan for strategic gains, atrocities committed in the ’71 war (a war that often referred to as a rape war), suspending the constitution etc. The situation poses a significant threat to democracy and the legislature urgently needs to figure out a way to rein in this executive body.