How Imran Khan’s polarising battle with Pakistan’s military could actually strengthen democracy

In Pakistan’s tumultuous political history, no civilian leader has challenged the military’s dominance as boldly as Imran Khan. Once a favored ally of the establishment, Khan has transformed into its fiercest critic, triggering a political showdown that could redefine the country’s governance.

While the confrontation between Khan, now imprisoned, and Army Chief General Asim Munir might seem destabilising in the short term, it holds the potential to recalibrate Pakistan’s democracy by curbing decades of unchecked military power.

For over seven decades, Pakistan’s military has dominated the nation’s political and economic spheres. Through coups, direct rule, and covert manipulation, it has consistently undermined democratic institutions and cultivated a culture of impunity. Civilian governments, including Khan’s, have frequently operated as mere extensions of the military, stripped of true autonomy.

Leaders who dared to challenge this status quo – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto, and Nawaz Sharif – faced dismissals, exiles, and even assassination. Imran Khan’s current defiance is unprecedented in its scale and intensity, forcing an overdue reckoning with the military’s entrenched control.

Khan’s explicit accusations against senior military officials, including former Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and General Asim Munir, have shattered long-standing taboos. Public criticism of the military has historically been met with severe repression –...

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