Pakistan Election Results 2024 Live Updates: Opinion | Whoever wins the Pak election, General Asim Munir will wear a crown of thorns This week’s story from Pakistan is not about who might win the national and provincial assembly elections there; it centres on army chief General Asim Munir, who is trying to consolidate his power. It does not really matter who Munir “selects” to run the front office (as the prime minister of the government). The fact is that Munir has put himself fully in charge of Pakistan.

Like many of the previous chiefs, General Munir would want to stick around. Pakistan’s near-term fortunes, then, appear tied inextricably to Asim Munir’s. (AP)

Having gambled big to put down the immensely popular Imran Khan, rearrange the political field, and push for major economic reform, Munir does not look like a man who will walk into the sunset when his term ends in late 2025. Like many of the previous chiefs, General Munir would want to stick around. Pakistan’s near-term fortunes, then, appear tied inextricably to Asim Munir’s. Although Munir seems to be following the familiar path of his predecessors at the GHQ in Rawalpindi in punishing civilian political leaders that come in their way, his task is complicated by the multiple crises buffeting the nation at home and the incredible shrinking of Pakistan in the region and the world. (Read more)