This perhaps is the unwritten rule of the Deep State that has held Pakistan in a tight grip since its very inception. This command does not apply only to the political elite but extends to every institution and stakeholder of the state—civilian or military, public or private, individual or collective. It ensures that all organs of the state—judiciary, bureaucracy, legislature, media, and the business community—remain subservient to its control. Dignity and independence are liabilities; unquestioning obedience is the only accepted virtue.
Having served closely in both media and civil service, and having traveled and worked with Presidents, Prime Ministers, Governors, and Chief Ministers—especially in Balochistan—I have witnessed firsthand that no government, no leader, and no public figure survives politically unless they surrender completely to the dictates of the Deep State. Those who dare to raise their heads or express a vision independent of establishment control are swiftly removed, disgraced, or eliminated. Political transitions, cabinet reshuffles, judicial rulings, and even corporate growth trajectories are carefully managed by forces outside the constitutional framework.
In Balochistan, this power dynamic is especially severe. Leaders such as Sardar Akhtar Mengal and Nawab Akbar Bugti, who tried to govern their province on their own terms, were either ousted, assassinated, or politically isolated. Successive provincial governments have rarely completed their terms. They were either pressured to resign or removed by engineering political turmoil under establishment oversight. This trend clearly reflects that governance in Balochistan has less to do with performance and more to do with submission to invisible commands.
The Deep State’s reach extends well beyond politics and into the heart of Pakistan’s economy. No industrialist, real estate developer, banker, manufacturer, or transporter can operate independently if their business model threatens or competes with the economic interests of the establishment. The military’s corporate empire—estimated to be worth over $40 billion—controls banks, insurance firms, cement and cereal plants, schools, agricultural estates, and retail chains. Businesses that pose a threat or refuse to align with these interests are often brought to heel through financial strangulation, legal troubles, or forced compliance. This coercion stifles competition, innovation, and fair enterprise. Economic policy is crafted not with national development in mind but to favor the monopolistic hold of military-run conglomerates.
Pakistan’s political history reinforces this power structure. The military has ruled directly for nearly half of the country’s existence—Ayub Khan (1958–69), Yahya Khan (1969–71), Zia-ul-Haq (1977–88), and Pervez Musharraf (1999–2008)—and indirectly during most of the remaining years through engineered coalitions and installed puppets. Civilian leaders such as Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif, and Imran Khan were removed, not for incompetence or corruption, but for crossing the invisible red lines laid down by the establishment.
Bhutto was hanged after a farcical trial. Benazir was dismissed twice and later assassinated under mysterious circumstances. Nawaz Sharif was disqualified thrice; despite popular support, he never completed a term. And Imran Khan, brought into power in 2018 by the military itself, was discarded when he sought to assert independence in foreign and domestic policy.
In the 2024 general elections, despite being widely believed to hold majority public support, his mandate was brazenly stolen using a combination of judicial verdicts, election commission maneuvering, and administrative suppression. He remains incarcerated, while political stooges have been conveniently installed to rubber-stamp decisions made elsewhere.
The consequences of this unchecked power are now evident across every sector of national life. Pakistan has alienated all of its neighbors—India, Afghanistan, and Iran—due to erratic policies and border management failures. The major global powers are wary of investing or engaging with Pakistan, citing political instability and military overreach. Foreign direct investment has dried up. The entire country is in the grip of resurgent terrorism. Extremist violence, once restricted to tribal areas, has now spread to major cities, disrupting daily life and national morale.
Unlike the past, when certain provinces viewed the military favorably, today the people across Pakistan—Punjab, Sindh, KP, and Balochistan—are increasingly opposed to military dominance and are openly challenging the high-handedness of the establishment. This nationwide disenchantment is unprecedented.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s borders are insecure and porous. There is rampant cross-border infiltration of terrorists, and smuggling of arms, drugs, money, and fuel has become routine. Billions of dollars spent on building barbed-wire fencing have failed to prevent these illegal flows. The state has lost control over many stretches of the frontier. Law enforcement is either compromised or powerless in the face of this organized criminal enterprise, which often flourishes under patronage.
The country’s prisons are filled with political opponents and dissenters. Those who align themselves with the Deep State are released, rewarded, or protected, while others are brutally persecuted. Due process has collapsed. Journalists, students, politicians, and activists languish in jails without trial. The judiciary, historically a collaborator in legitimizing military coups under the so-called doctrine of necessity, has now become another instrument of suppression, rubber-stamping decisions of convenience.
Pakistan’s economy is in crisis. Inflation is crushing the middle and lower classes. The currency has lost value. The youth are disillusioned, with record levels of emigration by those who see no future in their homeland. The GDP per capita continues to decline. Public services are broken. Institutions are hollowed out.
This is the price of prolonged subjugation to an unelected force. The military, which is supposed to be a branch of the state, has acted as if it is the tree itself. But a branch cannot remain standing if the trunk falls. Unfortunately, this truth has remained unacknowledged since 1947. The Deep State has become an entity that thrives on control and intimidation. Its political engineering, economic monopolies, and suppression of dissent have ensured that Pakistan remains isolated, unstable, and impoverished.
Unless this cycle is broken—either by a people’s revolution or reform from within the ranks of the military itself—the nation will continue to drift toward deeper chaos. There seems little hope from within the existing structure. The choice now lies with those who wield power in the shadows. If they continue to act as the masters of this nation rather than its servants, Pakistan will continue to lose its standing in the community of nations, and its people will remain trapped in despair.
The time for introspection is now. Let wisdom prevail before it is too late. Peace be upon you all.
The writer is Press Secretary to the President (Rtd), Former Press Minister at Embassy of Pakistan to France and Former MD, SRBC.
