An often-repeated statement about Pakistan is that while all countries have an army, in Pakistan, the army has a nation.
The Army has dominated Pakistan in every sense for nearly eight decades of its journey. The Army has directly ruled Pakistan for almost 33 years and indirectly ruled the country for the remaining 45 years.
Four Army Chiefs, General Ayub Khan, General Yahya Khan, General Zia-ul-Haq, and General Pervez Musharraf, have served as Pakistan’s Presidents.
Irrespective of who rules the country, Pakistan’s foreign policy, and especially its India policy, is always understood to be the prerogative of the Pakistan Army.
Since its establishment in 1972, barring two exceptions, all chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC), the de Jure Commander-in-Chief of all services of the Pakistan Armed Forces, have come from the Pakistan Army.
The only two five-star generals in Pakistan, Field Marshal Ayub Khan and Field Marshal Asim Munir, have both come from the Pakistan Army.
It is the Pakistan Army, which is credited with keeping the country safe and united, in the face of overwhelming odds. Never mind the fact that it was under an Army General in 1971, General Yahya Khan, that Pakistan lost its Eastern half, which later became Bangladesh.
The larger-than-life image of the Pakistan Army in the country’s life is also due to its control of two influential organizations. The powerful intelligence agency of Pakistan, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Similarly, the Strategic Plans Division (SPD) – responsible for the command, control, and oversight of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal and strategic forces – has, since its inception in 2000, always been headed by a three-star Army officer.
The Pakistan Army is also widely regarded as one of the largest real estate players in the country, primarily through its control of the Defense Housing Authority (DHA) and other military-affiliated organizations, such as the Fauji Foundation and the Army Welfare Trust (AWT).
Pakistan Army is also one of the largest business conglomerates in the country, with significant interests in retail, real estate, highways, construction, mining, housing, and food production.
The business interests of the Pakistani Army have led to the coining of a new term in Pakistan – the Milbus – military business.
According to a 2007 book by widely respected Pakistani historian Ayesha Siddiqa – Military Inc: Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy – the Pakistan Army’s net worth was over USD 20 billion at that time. By some accounts, the net worth of the Pakistan Army is over USD 50 billion in 2025.
Since Pakistan’s economy is USD 400 billion, nearly one-eighth of the Pakistan economy is directly controlled by the Pakistan Army.
There are few places on earth, including countries under direct military rule, where the army is this entrenched in every aspect of the nation’s life.
Yet, this chokehold of the Pakistan Army on the nation’s life was recently threatened, of all things, due to another war with India. And, ironically enough, this pre-eminent position of the Pakistan Army was challenged by none other than its own less fortunate cousin, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).
PAF Vs Pakistan Army
Writing for The Wire, veteran journalist Rahul Bedi says that India’s Operation Sindoor had an unexpected fallout in Pakistan – a tilt in Pakistan’s military balance favoring its Air Force.
It’s worth recalling that so far, all four wars between India and Pakistan were mainly fought on the ground. The 1948, 1965, 1971, and 1999 India-Pakistan wars were largely ground wars with a limited and brief role for the Air Forces.
By contrast, the recent four-day war between India and Pakistan was fought mainly by the Air Forces. It’s not that the Army had no role at all. There was heavy exchange of fire on the Line of Control (LoC), resulting in casualties on both sides. The Army’s ground-based air defense systems also came into play.
However, it was the role played by the Air Forces of both countries that captured the imagination.
The highlight from the Indian side was its ability to deliver precision stand-off blows inside the length and breadth of Pakistan.
From the Pakistan side, the highlight was the claim (though yet unverified) of downing six Indian aircraft, including three Rafales, on the night of May 6 when India launched Operation Sindoor.
Though India has not acknowledged any losses, and Pakistan is yet to give any credible evidence, this narrative of PAF shooting down six Indian fighter planes has been broadly accepted by the public in Pakistan.
According to this narrative, the final scorecard after the May 6 air duel stood 6-0 in Pakistan’s favor.
“Our Air Force has got a 6-0 victory against India,” Air Vice Marshal Aurangzeb Ahmed said in a joint press conference with Pakistan Army spokesperson, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif.
Even though no evidence was provided for the claims, this narrative was accepted unquestionably in Pakistan, which has still not been able to digest the painful memories of the 1971 war, when the Islamic country was divided into two parts.
The 1999 Kargil War was also a decisive victory for India, as the Indian military successfully recaptured the strategic heights that Pakistan had seized.
In this scheme of things, the PAF restored the pride of Pakistan after two humiliating losses in wars led by the Pakistan Army.
According to this argument, the PAF came off as more technologically savvy and future-ready than its Indian counterpart, notwithstanding India’s larger economy and the presence of expensive platforms like the Rafales.
Again, while Pakistani claims are yet to be verified, and Islamabad has advanced no operational details, the story goes that PAF was able to establish clear air superiority on the night of May 6, due to a connected force, integrating ground-based radars, Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) systems – sourced electronic and signals intelligence (ELINT/SIGINT) in real time, Chinese BeiDou and Gaofen satellite imagery, electronic warfare platforms, and advanced fighter jets.
In contrast, the Pakistan Army’s ground-based air defense systems were found to be sluggish and possibly lost to Indian drone attacks.
For four days, the PAF spokesperson was giving all the operational details while sharing the stage with the Pakistan Army spokesperson.
“For the first time in a major and direct confrontation with India, the Army was publicly overshadowed by the PAF’s performance that earned it plaudits from foreign observers, Pakistan’s civil-military elite and segments of its informed public, at home and abroad,” Bedi writes.
To acknowledge the role of the PAF in the brief war, PM Sharif on May 20 gave a service extension to Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, a privilege generally reserved for Army Generals.
Together, all this created an impression that PAF was finally receiving its due credit in a country known to be dominated by the Army in every possible sense.
Asim Munir’s Promotion To Undercut PAF Rising Role?
Within Pakistani defense circles, speculation is rife that it was this upending of the traditional balance in the Pakistan Army’s favor that might have prompted General Asim Munir’s promotion to the rank of Field Marshal.
“This was a subtle message for the PAF to tell them who is in charge,” a former PAF official told Eurasian Times on condition of anonymity.
However, alongside promoting General Munir, PM Sharif also felt compelled to extend the service of ACM Sidhu. Incidentally, ACM Sidhu is only the second Pakistani air chief to receive such a tenure extension after ACM Anwar Shamin in 1981.
Additionally, since the announcement of the ceasefire on May 10, there have been multiple reports indicating that the PAF may receive delivery of 40 J-35 fifth-generation aircraft from China as early as 2026, showing the continued focus on Air Power in Pakistan’s evolving defense strategy.
In conclusion, it can be safely said that Operation Sindoor has brought the PAF into sharp focus despite unverified victories.
Still, the influence of the Pakistan Army looms large. However, if future India-Pakistan conflicts are dominated by air power, as happened during the brief four-day war, then it would not be outlandish to think of a day when it is the PAF that would dominate the Pakistani defense establishment.
- Sumit Ahlawat has over a decade of experience in news media. He has worked with Press Trust of India, Times Now, Zee News, Economic Times, and Microsoft News. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Media and Modern History from the University of Sheffield, UK.
- THIS IS AN OPINION ARTICLE. VIEWS PERSONAL OF THE AUTHOR.
- He can be reached at ahlawat.sumit85 (at) gmail.com
