Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday defended the country’s controversial “hybrid model” of governance, where military and civilian leaderships work in close coordination. This comes at a time when Pakistan’s poor track record on democracy and persistent human rights concerns is known to everyone. In an interview with British-American journalist Mehdi Hasan, Asif dismissed criticism of military influence in Pakistani politics, instead turning the focus on the United States by labelling its democracy a product of the “deep state.”
When asked by Hasan, “It’s a strange system you have in Pakistan. I think you’ve called it a hybrid model- where the military and civilian leaders effectively share power. But the military leaders are really the ones in charge, are they not? In most countries, the head of the army answers to the defence minister. In your country you, the defence minister, answer to the head of the army, don’t you? Asim Munir is a more powerful person than you are.”
Khawaja Asif admits to ‘Hybrid rule’ in Pakistan
Pakistan Defence Minister Asif refused the claim saying, “No, it’s not like that, I am a political appointee, I am a political worker, you know.” When asked with the example of how in the US, Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of War, has the power to fire American generals, but the same cannot be said for Pakistan. Asif retorted, saying, “They have a different model over here. It’s called deep state.”
When Hasan remarked, “In your country, the deep state’s in charge, that’s what the accusation is,” Asif deflected by putting blame on past leadership, saying, “You can say that because of our military rulers-it is more visible.” On being pressed further on where real power lies in Pakistan, Asif described the system as “hybrid,” reiterating a term he has previously used to characterise the power-sharing dynamic between the military and civilian leadership. Earlier this year, Asif had openly praised this ‘hybrid regime,’ as reported by Dawn.
In an interview with Arab News, Asif described the hybrid system as not an ideal democratic model, yet claimed it was “doing wonders,” calling it a “practical necessity” until Pakistan’s economic and governance issues are resolved, Dawn reported.
When questioned by Hasan on power-sharing, “So it’s equal? You and Asim Munir disagree on something, who gets the last word? Let’s say you want to go left and he wants to go right. Who wins that argument?” Asif responded by calling the decision-making process to be based on consensus. “It’s not equal… We can agree to disagree. It is by consensus, whatever is taking place…”
