November 27: Pakistan’s military has entered one of its most powerful phases — without formally taking control — as Army Chief Asim Munir assumed the newly created role of Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) on Thursday. Established through the controversial 27th Constitutional Amendment, the position gives Munir authority over all three defence services — the army, air force, and navy — for a fixed five-year term.
The amendment also abolished the post of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), introduced in 1976 by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto after Pakistan’s defeat in the 1971 war. With General Sahir Shamshad Mirza retiring today, the CJCSC’s decades-long presence in the military structure officially ends.
A nuclear-armed nation of 240 million, Pakistan has oscillated between military and civilian rule since 1947. The last military ruler, Pervez Musharraf, took power in a 1999 coup and remained president until 2008. Though civilian governments have led since then, the military continues to wield significant influence over politics and governance — often described as a system of “hybrid rule.”
