Asim Munir Scripts A 'Democratic Coup' | Pakistan's Biggest Constitutional Crisis | Akash Banerjee

Ayub Khan, Zia ul Haq, Parvez Musharraf and now Asim Munir. One thing India can never compete with Pakistan is the long news of the year. But there was another big news in Pakistan. I am not talking about Islamabad car blast. This is a big news that will destroy the remaining democracy of Pakistan. How democracy can be destroyed without military takeover? Last week, Pakistan's parliament passed 27th constitutional amendment which has ended the power and independence of judiciary.

With this amendment, the military, especially Field Marshal Asim Munir, will become even more powerful. Officials like PM and PM have been made ready to provide lifetime criminal and civil immunity. This amendment has created a stir in Pakistan politics. Top judges including next in line Chief Justice have resigned. Opposition is preparing to protest in the country. It is said that in the last 75 years, a government has never been democratically formed.

Either the military will remove military or indirectly controlled the people. But the constitution has never been so open. Today, the Pakistan military wants to control in Pakistan politics. But this time, no coup, no bloodshed, no gun power, only constitutional takeover. Pakistan government was dancing to the tunes of Army Chief Asim Munir. You will see him waving hands with world leaders every time. Asim Munir is ready to defend himself with a new amendment. The symbols of democracy are fading and a full-fledged military rule is in place.

This time, Pakistan's military takeover is not sudden, but systematic and sustained. After the latest coup, even if Asim Munir is not the President, he has created a system of unlimited power and zero accountability for himself. The government of Pakistan was unable to say anything to the military. Now, the courts have been weakened to such an extent that they are unable to say anything.

We gave this gift to ourselves.

In today's episode, we will try to understand Pakistan's latest military takeover in detail. Why are other dictators in the world trying to copy Pakistan? What is happening in Pakistan? What is the 27th constitutional amendment? Why is it being called the worst constitutional crisis in Pakistan? Is genuine democracy going to end in Pakistan?

Why did Operation Sindoor become a lifeline for the army when its credibility was at an all-time low? What will be the impact of this crisis on India and its neighbors? And what should people learn? How to stop a constitutional coup? Democracy may have been fruitful, but as we will see in Pakistan, Democracy will only be followed by Field Marshal Munir's instructions.

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ProteinX Diabetes Care is offering you a Beto Curve Glucometer for a limited period. You can track your sugar levels anywhere, anytime. Check out the link in the description. Start your day with ProteinX Diabetes Care. Anyways, back to the story. This week, Pakistan's parliament saw a high voltage drama. Between protest and opposition boycott, 27th constitutional amendment was passed.

President's signature has been put on it. After which, political tensions are rising in Pakistan. First, let's see this amendment and then see how democracy is being crushed. Via an amendment. The most controversial change is in Article 243. Article 243 defines the relationship between the military and the civilian government. After the amendment, a new post will be formed in Pakistan, Chief of Defence Forces.

Since 1947, the military has been the most powerful institution in Pakistan. After four coups and decades of direct and indirect military rule, the Army is consolidating itself in power. The Army Chief had already been given the most powerful position in the country. The 27th Constitutional Amendment will give lifetime immunity to Asim Munir and other 5-star officers. Their rank, privileges and even their uniforms will be protected. Existing Article 248 of Pakistan Constitution states that criminal proceedings cannot be carried out on the President and Governor during their tenure. But, immunity is not guaranteed after tenure. Military generals do not have immunity. Field Marshal's rank was already an honorific rank.

But after this amendment, these top officials are given lifetime immunity. They can never be prosecuted for their crimes. On top of it, Field Marshal's post has been made constitutionally protected. Who can question the army chief in Pakistan? Who can remove him? But now, the situation is such that a two-thirds parliamentary majority is needed to remove a five-star officer, a 2-thirds parliamentary majority is required. It is a big deal.

If you want to remove a Prime Minister, a simple majority will do. But if you want to remove a military officer, a 2-thirds majority is required. Seeing all this, Pakistan's people and civil society are saying... What is all this? I am blind. Another post is being made from this amendment. Commander of the National Strategic Command. The army is now taking control of this post.

Finally, the judiciary has corruption of the judiciary. Pakistan's corrupt and inefficient leadership was the only Supreme Court of Pakistan that was known for its independence. Now, a new Federal Constitutional Court or FCC will be formed. The Chief Justice of this court will be appointed by the government. The job of this court will be to handle federal and provincial disputes, to decide on constitutional matters, to look after cases of fundamental rights.

This work was done by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, which is the supreme court in any country's democracy. But now, Supreme Court has taken away all the power from the Supreme Court and made it a civil and criminal appellate court. Meaning, the Supreme Court's reputation has been completely snatched. Not only that, this amendment gives power to the President to transfer a judge from one High Court to another on the recommendation of the Judicial Commission

whether the judge agrees or not. This seems familiar. The government should not allow a judge to be transferred from one high court to another. This is a very old saying. Pakistan government says that the Supreme Court is getting a lot of constitutional petitions. This is why the FCC is needed. The FCC is important for the government. The government also believes that the administrative structure of the forces will be clear after Article 243. But the general public has understood that the main objective of this amendment is to formalize the army. But why has the court been broken? Why me? Let's understand why the army had to formalize its powers.

They had power and respect. No democratically elected government has ever been able to complete its five-year agenda. Every time, before term ends, the Prime Minister is replaced by a military leader or the military is forced to leave the country. This has been the case in Pakistan for decades. But in May 2023, people of Pakistan said that enough is enough. On May 9, 2023, after the arrest of former Prime Minister and Pakistan's Justice leader Imran Khan, the entire Pakistan army rose up against the government. Military headquarters, high ranking officials' homes were on fire. It seemed as if Pakistan will never let the army back in.

The all-powerful Pakistan military has never faced such a crisis. Imran Khan and his supporters have ruined the army's plan. Now, it was time to reclaim the lost authority. Army is working on four main dimensions. Political, legal, sentimental and diplomatic. It started on the second day of riots. After two days of riots, Army cracked down on protesters. Imran Khan was jail in jail for his crimes. After riots, all the top leaders of his party were arrested overnight.

They were pressured to either leave Imran Khan or get beaten up. The police arrested him again and again until he was forced to leave the country. I have heard this formula somewhere. Oh, really? They were kept in jail for an indefinite period. Back to back convictions. They were also hoping to get back into politics. But it was too late.

Whether there were legal cases or not, whether there was conviction or not, whether there was absence of leadership, the people of Pakistan had understood this. They had seen the game of the army. And they wanted to somehow, whether there was a crackdown or not, reduce the influence of the army in Pakistan. Meanwhile, 2024 elections were also coming up.

If PTI wins, the army will be in a worse state. So, the army did what any, autocratic institution. The Pakistan Election Commission ruled out PTI from 2024 elections by handing over false cases. Now PTI cannot fight elections with its political symbol. PTI leaders had to fight elections like independents. Thanks to the parliamentary framework, the government was not able to form a single block in the independence elections. Shahbaz Sharif's army backed puppet government came to power and PTI independence court was shocked by the fact that the government should be theirs. Finally, the case reached Supreme Court. Justice Shah and Justice Athar's bench gave PTI a chance to solve the democratic crisis.

A party that has won the elections but is not getting a chance to form a government. Finally, a full court ruled that PTI is a political party and it has a right to form a government. The court said that when a body like the Election Commission does wrong, the electoral process is at risk. Judicial intervention is needed to ensure electoral justice. Editor, you sound like you've heard this before.

Oh, really?

Even after Supreme Court's order, Pakistan's deep state ignored Supreme Court's verdict and did not let PTI come into power. People's will and vote were crushed. Election was stolen by the army. At least, Supreme Court showed the world how an independent institution should work. It is now the next independence of the Supreme Court. The power to appoint Chief Justice was given to a special parliamentary committee.

The seniority principle was diluted. The Supreme Court's suo moto powers were cut down and the Judicial Commission was forced to impose new laws. All these measures were done to pressure independent judges like Justice Shah and Justice Minala. The latest 27th amendment is also moving in the same direction. The army has claimed much needed legal authority. But Pakistanis were still angry reduce the army's power. For this, Pakistan Army adopted a strategy that is successful in many parts of the world. Us vs. Them.

In March, Jaffar Express was hijacked. In this daring attack, Baloch Liberation Army had taken more than 300 people hostage. A 30-hour long operation was launched by the Pakistani Army. After the death of 30 people, the Pakistani Army was able to rescue the rest of the passengers. After this heart-wrenching operation, the army was able to claim its lost credibility. Army Chief Muneer repeatedly says that he will give his life for Pakistan but not let it be destroyed. Balochistan is a part of Pakistan and he will fight with courage. Then comes Operation Sindoor.

Muneer gets an opportunity to find an opportunity to intervene. From 7th to 10th May, we witnessed intense military confrontation. Our forces attacked their bases by deep penetration strike. They attacked our air force with Chinese hardware and satellite tracking. Finally, Pakistan took advantage of the ceasefire. Trump also takes Pakistan's side. Munir projected his domestic audience that he is the only one who can protect the country.

The image of Pakistan Army was changed overnight. No one was ready to question the army. Asim Munir said...

Because we all want respect.

He got respect from the government. He took the promotion for himself. He became a 5-star officer. Field Marshal Munir. After reclaiming the sentiments of the people, it was time to get validation from the rest of the world. As we told you earlier, Asim Muner will be seen on every important foreign trip.

Whether it is a meeting with Trump, meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister or meeting with Egyptian President Sisi. You will see Munir everywhere. Earlier, Pakistani army chiefs used to meet Arab leaders. But after seeing Munir's meetings, you can understand how much influence he has had in Pakistan's diplomacy and how Pakistan has accepted him. So, the Pakistani military is openly operating on the basis of civilian leadership. All institutions including the constitution are being compromised in South East Asia should remember. It is not a big deal to draw public sentiment towards you. A pedophile is the most popular president of America. Just because a person or institution has so much public support, it does not mean that you should misuse it. You can use the model of danger to your advantage but you can't use the support base to suppress the core democratic values of the country. Three years ago, people protested in Israel against the judicial overhaul. This was also seen in India.

Farmers protested for a long time and finally the government backed off. We are witnessing a new type of dictatorship. Legal dictatorship. Asim Munir could have ruled Pakistan with a gun but he is not doing so it will take decades to change the dictatorship. And it will be difficult to reset the dictatorship. It is difficult. Use the link below to claim your free curve glycometer. And it will be difficult to reset the dictatorship. It is difficult. Use the link below to claim your free curve glycometer. Many thanks for watching. More episodes coming up.