The slow-motion unraveling of Pakistan’s state apparatus has, in the past year, snapped into sharp focus. The mass exodus of global corporations, surging violence in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, open revolt in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and the mass incarceration of dissenters—all while millions of youth flee for their futures abroad—signal that Pakistan’s “Asim Law” regime is now flirting with system collapse 

Flight of Multinationals: The Economic Warning Shot

The flight of giants such as Procter & Gamble (including Gillette), Pfizer, Telenor, and Shell is not just an indictment of a mismanaged economy; it is a declaration of no confidence in the state’s capacity to provide security or economic predictability. These corporations, after years of hedging and waiting for reforms, are shuttering operations and liquidating billions in assets. For Pakistan, this is a trajectory last seen in failing states: when foreign capital flees, local capital soon follows—and the jobs, technology, and hope for a new generation vanish with them.

Terrorism on the March

While investors depart, violence fills the vacuum. Balochistan and KP are experiencing unprecedented waves of terrorism, with fatality rates jumping 46% in recent quarters and the state unable—or unwilling—to stem the bloodshed. The public cannot ignore the reality that these deadly attacks, frequently targeting security forces themselves, are a direct rebuke to state authority.

Pakistan-Administered Kashmir: The People Rebel

Nowhere is the delegitimization of the “Asim Law” regime starker than in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Recent coverage documents the largest anti-government protests in decades, met with live fire and a mounting civilian death toll. Protesters have openly rejected military rule, demanding democratic accountability and basic human rights. The violent suppression of these voices, far from quelling unrest, is turning a generation of Pakistan-administered Kashmiris into permanent antagonists of the establishment.

A Regime Built on Fear

The foundation of the state is now brute force. The international community’s mounting documentation of abductions, torture, and indefinite detentions of the supporters of Imran Khan, Pakistan’s most popular civilian leader, reveals a government more invested in silencing voices than solving crises. There is no pretense of due process or justice—just an insecure establishment, terrified of the public’s verdict 

Mass Exodus: Pakistan’s Youth Are Voting With Their Feet

Every generation crafts its own vote of confidence in a nation’s future. In Pakistan today, millions of youth are voting with their feet. With over 65,000 people leaving in a single month in 2025 and nearly 40% of the population reportedly willing to emigrate, it is clear that hope has withered .

Conclusion: A System at the Abyss

Pakistan faces the classic recipe for systemic collapse: economic freefall, security vacuum, political persecution, and mass disaffection. That this has all happened under the military tutelage of General Asim Munir—the so-called “Asim Law”—should be a warning to those who believe force can substitute for legitimacy, or that surveillance can replace governance. Without urgent restoration of constitutional rule, civilian leadership, and fundamental freedoms, Pakistan risks not simple decline, but outright dissolution. The warning signs are flashing. Those in power choose to look away at their—and the nation’s—peril