ANOTHER POWER SHIFT IN PAKISTAN: A CRUMBLING STATE LOSING ITS GRIP ON DEMOCRACY

Pakistan is once again repeating the same political script that has defined its troubled history—power seizures, constitutional manipulation, military dominance and the open humiliation of democratic norms. Those who still believe Pakistan functions as a genuine democracy need only look at the recent constitutional amendments to understand how deeply the system has been compromised. What has happened may not look like a traditional coup, but it carries the unmistakable fingerprints of a silent takeover.

The amendments pushed through parliament were not designed to strengthen institutions or protect citizens. They were created to tighten the grip of the power brokers who have long operated behind the scenes. Instead of protecting judicial independence, the changes weakened it. Instead of reinforcing civilian authority, they reduced it to a ceremonial shell. Instead of ensuring accountability, they legally empowered those who have historically remained unanswerable. Parliament, with every passing year, looks less like a democratic institution and more like a rubber stamp for decisions already made elsewhere.

These amendments are not the evolution of democracy; they are the legal burial of it. When a country's constitution can be rewritten to suit the needs of a few, democracy becomes nothing more than a decorative façade. Pakistan has crossed that line. It now functions as a constitutional dictatorship wrapped in the language of legality.

The biggest issue facing Pakistan today is not leadership but structure itself. Every few years, a new “project,” a new artificial political hero, a new hybrid model is launched. The outcomes remain painfully predictable: weaker institutions, deeper public disillusionment, a more fragile economy and a widening gap between the state and its people. The recent amendments have merely formalized what has been true for decades—Pakistan has lost its democratic soul.

In such a collapsing environment, Pakistan’s long-standing rhetoric on Kashmir appears more hollow than ever. For decades, the state used Kashmir not as a diplomatic cause but as a convenient slogan to manufacture nationalism, distract public frustration, justify oversized military influence and mask political incompetence. Now, as Pakistan finds itself consumed by internal chaos, the Kashmir narrative has lost whatever moral weight it once claimed. A nation unable to protect its own constitution cannot credibly speak about the political future of anyone else. This is not about India’s success; it is about Pakistan’s failure. The comparison becomes inevitable only because Pakistan’s instability exposes the fragility of its claims.

Internationally, Pakistan is now viewed with growing mistrust and fatigue. A state that repeatedly rewrites its constitutional rules to fit the ambitions of its unelected power centers cannot expect to be treated as a reliable democratic partner. Investors flee. Diplomats hesitate. Global institutions look on with skepticism. Regardless of how Pakistan attempts to present itself, the world sees the same thing: a fractured, unpredictable state struggling to justify its own legitimacy. And in this climate, its geopolitical voice diminishes.

Perhaps the most revealing reaction comes from inside Pakistan. Ordinary citizens, long accustomed to political manipulation, are now openly expressing frustration. People are questioning how many more times the constitution will be rewritten, how long civilian governments will remain symbolic and for how long the Kashmir slogan will be used to distract them from the failures of their own rulers. The public’s disillusionment is no longer subtle; it is loud, clear and widespread. They understand that the Kashmir rhetoric served as a shield for internal dysfunction and now that the shield is collapsing, the dysfunction stands exposed.

These political breakdowns inevitably bleed into the economy. A country dependent on IMF bailouts, struggling with inflation and functioning with an unstable currency cannot afford constant constitutional and political experiments. Investors see political unpredictability as a warning sign and walk away. Every amendment, every engineered shift in power, pushes the country further from recovery and deeper into economic fragility. Pakistan has become a state where constitutions are temporary, governments are replaceable and power is constant—an environment that undermines any possibility of long-term stability.

In this state of collapse, Pakistan is no longer shaping regional narratives; it is being shaped by them. Its voice on Kashmir has lost resonance. Its democratic claims carry little credibility. Its economic vulnerabilities limit its geopolitical relevance. And its internal power struggles ensure that it cannot lead, influence, or meaningfully participate in regional diplomacy. Pakistan today stands as a cautionary tale of a nation that waged war on its own constitution and is now paying the price in political irrelevance.

The recent constitutional amendments did not merely shift power—they exposed the true nature of Pakistan’s political structure. Democracy in Pakistan was always fragile, but now it is barely functional. A country that cannot safeguard its own democratic framework cannot project itself as a guardian of any external cause. Not Kashmir, not regional peace and not even the security of its own citizens. Pakistan’s instability has cost it everything, most of all its strategic voice. It stands today not as a model for the region, but as a warning of what happens when a state sacrifices democracy for the illusion of control.