The Field Marshal’s expiring warranty

Strongmen are not discarded because they become brutal. Brutality is often the job description. They are discarded when brutality stops delivering. That is why the Financial Times’ recent scrutiny of Field Marshal Asim Munir matters. After years in which much of the Western press handled Pakistan’s authoritarian order with the discretion normally reserved for intelligence assets, covert arrangements and embarrassing allies, one of the world’s most influential establishment newspapers has finally begun examining the machinery behind the medals. The timing is revealing. Empires do not suddenly discover constitutionalism. They conduct performance reviews. The article, titled, “The grand designs of Pakistan’s strongman,” does not prove that Washington has turned against Munir. The Financial Times is not an imperial dismissal notice, and […]