Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, a senior figure in the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and close confidant of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, has made a rare and candid admission regarding the country’s power structure. This Pakistani politician is well known for regularly spouting bizarre but often hilarious statements.

In a televised interview with Arab News, Asif openly acknowledged that Pakistan is governed under a “hybrid model” in which the military wields a significant share of authority alongside the civilian government. This marks the second such admission by Asif within a week, underlining the entrenched role of the military in Pakistan’s political system.

Asif described this hybrid arrangement as a form of “co-ownership” between military and civilian leaders, emphasising that while it is not an ideal democratic setup, it is, in his view, a “practical necessity” given Pakistan’s ongoing economic and governance crises.

He argued that the hybrid model is “doing wonders,” suggesting that such a system is required until the country overcomes its current challenges. Asif further claimed that had this model been implemented during Nawaz Sharif’s earlier premierships in the 1990s, Pakistan might have avoided the persistent friction between civilian governments and the military, which he believes has historically impeded democratic progress.

The Defence Minister’s remarks have been widely interpreted as an explicit confirmation that the PML-N, under the Sharifs, is operating with the military’s endorsement. Asif stated that “the only realistic option” for his party is “to compromise with the military,” reflecting a pragmatic—if controversial—acceptance of the military’s dominance in national affairs.

This public admission has reignited debate within Pakistan about the true nature of its democracy. Analysts and critics have long described the so-called hybrid system as a “fixed government to serve subsidiary interests,” rather than a genuine power-sharing arrangement. Political analyst Dr Rasul Bakhsh Rais noted that this is the third iteration of a hybrid regime since the ouster of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2022.

He contrasted the current situation with previous military regimes under Generals Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf, noting that while those leaders built new political alliances, today’s major parties—PML-N and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)—have willingly assumed the role of political façade for the military establishment.

The timing of Asif’s comments is significant, coming just after Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir’s high-profile meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House—a meeting hailed by Asif as a historic turning point, made possible by the hybrid governance model. This event, which notably excluded civilian leadership, further underscored the military’s centrality in Pakistan’s foreign policy and national security decisions.

Critics, including senior journalist Matiullah Jan, have condemned the hybrid arrangement as antithetical to constitutional democracy, arguing that it amounts to a “pure and simple dictatorship with political pygmies at the heels of affairs.” The PML-N’s apparent embrace of military tutelage is seen as a stark reversal from its previous slogan of “Vote Ko Izzat Do” (give respect to the ballot), fuelling perceptions that the party has abandoned its anti-establishment stance in favour of political survival.

Political observers warn that the future of Pakistan’s democratic institutions remains precarious under this arrangement. The military’s orchestration of electoral victories for the PML-N and PPP is viewed as reducing these parties to mere appendages of the establishment. The current priority for both the political and military leadership, according to analysts, is to neutralize Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which is perceived as a threat to their shared interests.

Khawaja Asif’s frank acknowledgment of the hybrid civil-military power structure has laid bare the realities of Pakistan’s governance, confirming longstanding suspicions about the military’s decisive role in shaping the country’s political landscape.

While Asif defends the arrangement as a necessary response to Pakistan’s crises, critics argue it undermines democratic development and cements the military’s dominance over civilian institutions.

Based On A PTI Report