- Thursday, February 27, 2025
Sharif criticised his predecessor Imran Khan for taking the military’s support but followed the same pattern after coming to power.
By: Shubham Ghosh
PAKISTAN’S outgoing prime minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that even his government could not run without the support from the country’s powerful military, reflecting its key role in the coup-prone politics of the south Asian nation.
While in the opposition bench, Sharif, 71, used to criticise the government of his predecessor Imran Khan for running a hybrid regime. However, after coming to power in April last year following the ouster of Khan, he adopted the same pattern.
Speaking with Pakistan’s Geo News broadcast on Thursday (10), Sharif said Khan had relied heavily on the former Pakistani army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa during his stay in the office. He said this when anchor Hamid Mir said that Pakistan was among the most prominent examples of hybrid regimes of the world today.
“Mr Khan also received military support during his tenure. His government was a blend of various components, despite his accusations against others for the same. Every government requires backing from key sectors, including the military,” Sharif, brother of former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif, said.
The military, commonly known as the establishment, has run Pakistan directly for almost half of its history since partition in 1947.
For the rest of the half, it called the shots from behind the curtains, controlling the politics of the country.
On August 14, Pakistan will celebrate the 76th anniversary of its independence.
Though Pakistan’s military has repeatedly said it would not interfere in the country’s politics, its influence in affairs of the state is still evident.
Lately, it is taking part in the financial decision-making process and prime minister Sharif instead of showing any resistance promoted the trend.
He set up a high-level Special Investment Facilitation Council to promote investment in key sectors and the army chief is part of it alongside the premier.
Sharif said in April that army chief General Asim Munir played a role in securing funds from Saudi Arabia and the UAE — a pre-condition by the International Monetary Fund to seal a bailout deal with the cash-strapped nation.
(With PTI inputs)
