Pakistan’s parliament has approved a contentious constitutional amendment that broadens the authority of the army chief and grants him lifelong legal immunity, while curbing the autonomy of the Supreme Court.
Field Marshal Asim Munir, the influential army chief widely regarded as the country’s de facto leader, is the principal beneficiary of the 27th constitutional amendment, which was passed by the lower house on Wednesday.
The legislation will now return to the senate, which already endorsed it on Monday, for minor revisions before it is expected to be signed by President Asif Ali Zardari, at which point it will be formally added to the constitution.
Under the amendment, Munir, who was nominated earlier this year to become a five-star general, will gain sweeping new powers.
He will assume the newly created role of chief of defence forces, giving him oversight not only of the army but also the navy and air force, in addition to receiving lifelong immunity from criminal prosecution.
The amendment also significantly reduces the authority of the supreme court, the last major institutional check on executive power.
It creates a new federal constitutional court positioned above the supreme court, with judges to be appointed by the executive, a move critics say dismantles any remaining semblance of judicial independence.
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Additionally, decisions regarding the transfer of judges will rest entirely with the president, eliminating existing accountability mechanisms.
Opponents said the legislation served only to enshrine military rule and push Pakistan further towards all-out authoritarianism.
Since it was established in 1947, Pakistan has spent decades under full military dictatorships when military generals suspended the constitution altogether. But since 2008, after the fall of Gen Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan has emerged as a fragile democracy, ostensibly led by elected civilian governments – even if still largely manipulated or controlled by the powerful military behind the scenes.
In recent years, the military has been accused of taking greater control over the running of the country while consolidating the power of its most senior generals. As the army chief since 2022, Munir has travelled internationally in a role akin to head of state, including two unprecedented White House meetings with Donald Trump, which led to the US president referring to him as “my favourite field marshal”.
Figures from the ruling coalition government, led by the prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, justified amending the constitution as a way to ensure modernisation and efficiency in the military and in the judiciary.
In the past, changes to the constitution have led to weeks of debate and disruption in the senate and the lower house. But in what analysts said was a sign of the weakness of the ruling coalition government, an unhappy alliance of two formerly rival parties, and the untouchable power of Munir, this time it sailed through the upper and the lower houses in a few hours, with only four lawmakers voting against it on Wednesday.
