Pakistan has once again laid bare the illusion of civilian governance. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recently admitted that every major decision on foreign policy, the economy, and even negotiations with the International Monetary Fund is made in close consultation with Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, thereby once again exposing the truth that the civilian leadership in Islamabad is little more than a rubberstamp.

This public acknowledgment confirms what the world has long known: Pakistan is fundamentally an army state. While Sharif sits in the prime minister’s office, the real levers of power are firmly in Rawalpindi. Munir and his generals dictate policy, control strategic choices, and steer the country’s international engagements. Civilian authority is a facade and Sharif’s stat

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