Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif admits govt cannot run without support from military

It has always been known and repeatedly asserted that for a political party to survive in Pakistan, it needs strong backing from the all-powerful military establishment. It was never acknowledged officially until now.

However, on Friday (Aug 11), the outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif admitted that a government cannot function properly in the coup-prone country without the support of the military.

Sharif, who used to openly criticise his predecessor Imran Khan that he won the 2018 elections with the help of the military, said that even his government could not run without the support from the establishment.

"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 told Geo News in an interview when asked about the prevalence of hybrid regimes in Pakistan.

In Pakistan, govts cannot afford to take on military

All of the country’s most powerful political parties have fallen foul of military crackdowns and arrests.

The previous regime of Khan was ousted after he reportedly fell out with former Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa

Before Khan, it was the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, who in 2017, after falling out with the military, was toppled from power and jailed for corruption, as were several others before him.

Multiple coup attempts

Since the partition from India in 1947, Pakistan's military had played the role of a kingmaker, and even taken direct control of the government affairs several times.

The first coup took place in 1958, and since then the military has routinely asserted itself in political affairs. The last time military took control was when its chief General Pervez Musharraf ousted Nawaz Sharif and his ministers in 1999.

This was reportedly in response to thwarting the Sharif regime's attempt to dismiss Musharraf, whose regime then lasted till 2008.

Though Pakistan's military has often said that it would not interfere in the country's politics, its influence in the affairs of the state is still evident.

One of the recent example is when Prime Minister Sharif involved the present Army Chief Syed Asim Munir in the high-level Special Investment Facilitation Council to promote investment in key sectors.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE