Pakistan’s Defence Minister Admits ‘Hybrid Rule’, Says Army Too Holds Power In Civil-Military Setup

Last Updated:June 21, 2025, 21:38 IST

This marks the second time in a week that Asif, currently serving in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet, has acknowledged the presence of a hybrid arrangement.

Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.. (Reuters Image)

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, a senior leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and a close aide of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, has openly stated that the country is operating under a “hybrid model" of governance in which the military holds a fair share of power.

This marks the second time in a week that Asif, currently serving in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet, has acknowledged the presence of a hybrid arrangement. Analysts have long criticised this setup as a “fixed government to serve subsidiary interests," rather than a genuine power-sharing model.

Asif’s remarks came during an interview with Arab News aired on Friday evening and are being widely interpreted as confirmation that the Sharifs’ PML-N is functioning with the endorsement of Pakistan’s powerful military establishment.

Describing the hybrid civil-military structure as a shared arrangement, Asif said: “This is a hybrid model. It’s not an ideal democratic government. So, this hybrid arrangement, I think it is doing wonders. This system is a practical necessity until Pakistan is out of the woods as far as economic and governance problems are concerned."

He further argued that if such a model had been implemented in the 1990s, when Nawaz Sharif was twice elected prime minister, Pakistan might have avoided prolonged friction between civilian and military leadership. “The confrontation between the military establishment and the political government would retard the progress of democracy," he added.

Asif further asserted that “the only realistic option" for the PML-N and the Sharifs is “to compromise with the military."

His comments came just a day after Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir met with US President Donald Trump at the White House—an event Asif hailed on X as “the most important turning point in the 78-year history of relations." He attributed the success of the engagement to “the current hybrid model of governance," a framework that, he emphasized, includes both the civilian government and the military.

The defence minister’s statement has reignited debate over the PML-N’s political trajectory and its now-contradictory past slogan of “vote ko izzat do" (give respect to the ballot). Critics argue that Asif’s frank admission cements the perception that the PML-N has aligned itself firmly under the military’s umbrella, abandoning its previous anti-establishment stance.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, a long-time rival of the Sharifs, has repeatedly claimed that the general elections held on February 8 were the “Mother of All Rigging" and accused the PML-N and its coalition partner—the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari—of being “mandate thieves."

Following Asif’s admission, political observers say the future of Pakistan’s democratic institutions remains precarious. “This (Trump-Munir) meeting has lifted the thin, see-through veneer of ‘elected’. What the world has known for quite a while is now in the open… where is the centre of power in Pakistan and who is in control of real state powers? The political allies (military) in power have presented themselves as the ‘government’ now," remarked political analyst Dr Rasul Bakhsh Rais, reported news agency PTI.

He further noted: “Khawaja Asif and others now have to seek some legitimacy to praise the merits of the hybrid model, which actually doesn’t mean a mixed but a fixed government to serve subsidiary interests."

Dr Rais described the current political system as the third iteration of a hybrid regime since Imran Khan’s ouster in 2022. Unlike previous periods under General Ziaul Haq and General Pervez Musharraf, both of whom built new political alliances, this time, he said, major parties like the PML-N and PPP have willingly assumed the role of “political facade."

He concluded that the military’s orchestration of electoral victories for the PML-N and PPP has reduced them to mere appendages of the establishment. “Now, the priority of the Sharifs and Zardaris as well as the military establishment is to neutralise the third force — Imran Khan’s PTI — which is perceived as a danger for all of them," he said.

Senior journalist Matiullah Jan also weighed in with sharp criticism on X: “What a fall from grace for a politician. This defence minister takes oath to defend the constitution which makes no mention of the so-called hybrid form of government." He added, “The fact is that this system is not even a hybrid system but a pure and simple dictatorship with political pygmies at the heels of affairs."

(With inputs from PTI)

Abhro Banerjee

Covering day-to-day national and international news for the last nine years across print and digital. Associated with News18.com as Chief Sub-Editor since 2022, covering innumerable big and small events, includ...Read More

Covering day-to-day national and international news for the last nine years across print and digital. Associated with News18.com as Chief Sub-Editor since 2022, covering innumerable big and small events, includ...

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News world Pakistan’s Defence Minister Admits ‘Hybrid Rule’, Says Army Too Holds Power In Civil-Military Setup