The Pakistani Army (Establishment) is not on a strategic mission but a suicidal trajectory, burdened by delusions of grandeur, ideological rigidity, and catastrophic internal decay.
The Pakistani Army today is on a path of strategic self-destruction—a veritable suicide mission forged by decades of identity crisis, ideological delusion, and institutional decay. Once perceived as a civilian-military hybrid with disproportionate influence over Pakistan’s governance, the Army long lost any claim to professional integrity or strategic credibility. Its chronic interference in democratic processes, combined with its sponsorship and training of jihadist proxies, has diluted not just its defense capabilities but its very essence as a modern military force.
Far from resembling a regimented and mechanized army of the 21st century, the Pakistani military increasingly appears as a confederation of armed men under the sway of deluded generals. These generals, gripped by a feudalistic mindset, seem more invested in safeguarding personal wealth and sprawling economic interests than in defending national sovereignty. What was once a military is now a business empire with guns.
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the Army’s notorious intelligence wing, functions less as a legitimate strategic apparatus and more as a factory of conspiracies—ideologically reminiscent of Joseph Goebbels’ propaganda machinery. It thrives on disinformation, utopian delusions, and psychological warfare aimed not only at adversaries but at Pakistan’s own citizens. Unlike fascist regimes of the past, Pakistan’s unique cocktail of Islamist fundamentalism and military overreach has failed to generate a cohesive authoritarian identity; instead, it has bred only instability, incoherence, and failed state tendencies.
The Army’s overreliance on its nuclear arsenal as a deterrent has revealed its strategic impotence. The once-feared nuclear doctrine, instead of strengthening Pakistan’s geopolitical posture, has bred overconfidence, passivity, and an illusion of invincibility that prevents the Army from functioning as a conventional force. This nuclear brinkmanship has masked the reality that the Pakistani military lacks the institutional discipline, technological sophistication, and economic resources to fight a sustained modern war.
This decay is starkly evident when contrasted with India’s back-to-back successful thwarting of both defensive and offensive Pakistani operations, most recently exemplified in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor and subsequent escalations. It is increasingly clear that the Pakistani Army not only lacks the will to confront India conventionally but is failing even in asymmetric warfare.
Perhaps most damning is its inability to contain domestic insurgencies. The persistent and emboldened attacks by Baloch rebels and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters—neither of which are conventional forces—have exposed the Army’s glaring vulnerabilities. These non-state actors have repeatedly inflicted devastating blows, penetrating military bases and garrisons with alarming ease. The fact that the Pakistani Army struggles to contain tribal militias and internal insurgents is a scathing indictment of its operational readiness.
In modern military doctrine, war is a rational enterprise. Contemporary generals and strategic planners understand the consequences of irrational escalation. In contrast, recent cases of desertion among Pakistani officers may be the only acts of rationality observed—an acknowledgment, perhaps, that they are being led by a leadership fixated on ideology over strategy, and symbolism over substance.
Pakistan’s political instability, economic collapse, and international isolation are not disconnected events—they are the by-products of a militarized state whose Army has outlived its relevance. It is now less a defense force and more a liability: economically parasitic, ideologically fanatical, and operationally incompetent.
Tragically, it is the common Pakistani citizen who pays the price. Misled, impoverished, and trapped in a decaying national project, they remain at the mercy of an institution that has not only failed to defend them but has been instrumental in destroying the very fabric of their state.
Pakistan may well be the only modern case study where an Army, by design and action, has dismantled its own nation. A country defined not by its people or potential, but by the monumental failure of its military.
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Author is a scholar of International Relations, Geo-Political analyst and a Serial entrepreneur who successfully ventured in different startups and founded many.