Munir's constitutional coup, a tweak in Zia-ul-Haq's playbook

New Delhi: What Asim Munir is trying to do in Pakistan through the 27th constitutional amendment is nothing short of a silent coup. It not only allots him rank, privilege and immunity against legal action for life but also thrones him as the sole commander-in-chief of all three services, gives him control over nuclear assets and dwarfs all other arms of government, plus the judiciary.

POST-1971 PAKISTAN

The context is better understood in the light of what happened in Pakistan after the 1971 war. It was the Pak Army's darkest hour, to investigate which the then PM Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto appointed a five-member war inquiry commission under Pakistan's chief justice Hamoodur Rehman. There was only one military member, the rest were from the judiciary, including two judges from the Balochistan high court.

A key recommendation of this commission, which has never been officially released, was setting up a Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee to be headed by a senior four-star general, who was to act as a principal military adviser to the government. This office was to act as a bridge between civilian set-up and the military, besides ensuring tri-services coordination.

In 1976, Bhutto appointed Zia-ul-Haq as Army chief but also appointed Gen Muhammad Shariff of the same seniority as the first Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. The two never got along and among the many reasons that triggered Zia to usurp political power through the 1977 coup. Shariff was against the coup and shortly resigned as Zia's loyalists took charge. The post of CJCSC was reduced to an adjunct.

ALL-POWERFUL MUNIR

Munir has gone a step further. He is abolishing the post through the 27th amendment. Instead, the post of Chief of Defence Forces with supremacy over all three services is proposed. This position will be held by the Chief of Army Staff. In this case, Munir himself. As CDF, he will get to appoint the head of the National Strategic Command (the amendment is clear that the PM will make the appointment on the advice of CDF). This essentially will put him in complete charge of Pakistan's nuclear assets.

He has, in a way, consolidated all military powers under him, unlike what Hamoodur Rehman had envisaged with two four-star generals at the helm. Ironically, Munir has reversed the ploy by splitting the Supreme Court through the creation of a Federal Constitutional Court. So, there will be two chief justices, with lack of clarity on who will be called the real chief justice of Pakistan.

PRESIDENTIAL PLOY

If Zia had to roll out the army to unseat Bhutto, arrest him and put a stop to judicial interference in military matters, Munir is doing so with the support of a weak Shehbaz Sharif government. To ensure President Asif Ali Zardari, who is from PPP, doesn't put a spoke in his plans, Munir has in the amendment ensured the proposal of lifelong immunity against legal action for the President, which until now was a privilege only till the time the person was in office. Quite conveniently, a line is inserted that the Field Marshal will not only enjoy the same lifelong privilege as the President but also the same process of removal.

Opposition from streets, if any

If Zia's coup was loud and brutal against a strong popular leadership, Munir's is silent, yet possibly more far reaching, being done through a political front office that's pliant and dependent on the Army for authority. With Imran Khan in prison, any opposition will come from the streets and the troubled insurgencies to the west of Islamabad.

India needs to step up vigil

Meanwhile, India will need to step up vigil. Because like all powerful military heads in Pakistan's past, Munir too is counting on Washington to fully back him, not just Beijing. Much as this bet on Trump may roil the Islamic right, it lies at the heart of Munir's plans - his roadmap for the future.