When General Asim Munir took charge of the Pakistan Army, he wasted no time in extending his grip from Rawalpindi into Islamabad. Through brazen pre-poll manipulation, widespread rigging, and irregularities documented in reports by the Commonwealth and EU Election Observation Missions—but deliberately buried—he manufactured a puppet civilian government. This was not democracy; it was theft of the people’s mandate. The result was nothing less than Asim Munir’s military misrule, a system where unelected generals usurp the will of the people under the guise of a “hybrid regime.” Even Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, in a moment of candor, labeled this arrangement for what it truly is: military-engineered governance. At its helm stood not the Prime Minister, but General Asim Munir—Pakistan’s unelected ruler—who crowned himself as the chief architect of “economic revival.”

His instrument of choice was the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), marketed with a grand promise: $100 billion in foreign investment. With sweeping statements and flashy presentations, Munir positioned himself not just as Army Chief but as the country’s “savior-in-chief.”

The SIFC Mirage

The $100 billion claim was never more than smoke and mirrors. It was designed to signal strength, not substance. The world, however, is not fooled. Without legal certainty, structural reforms, or a predictable market, no serious investor will risk capital. The recent withdrawal of established firms like Procter & Gamble exposes the rot in Pakistan’s business environment. If trusted multinationals cannot operate here, why would new investors step in? This hollow spectacle is yet another reminder that Asim Munir’s military misrule is corroding confidence both at home and abroad.

Manufactured “Stability,” Real Chaos

Asim Munir also promised stability—especially in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Instead, unrest has only deepened and spread. Even Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), once relatively calm, is now restless. The military’s coercion-driven model has once again proven counterproductive: repression does not resolve grievances, it multiplies them.

A History of Decay Under Generals

What Munir is doing is not new—it is a well-worn pattern. Every military ruler arrives with promises of reform, stability, and prosperity. Each leaves behind weaker institutions, greater debt, and a fractured society. Governance reduced to a security project cannot deliver economic renewal; it only accelerates institutional rot. Munir’s SIFC is nothing more than the latest chapter in this cycle of deception.

The Way Forward

No country can survive perpetual authoritarianism. For Pakistan, the path to survival is clear: restore constitutionalism, respect provincial autonomy, and rebuild trust between state and citizen. Economic revival will not come from barracks-led initiatives or hollow billion-dollar announcements. It will come from the rule of law, credible governance, and the people’s mandate. 

Until Pakistan breaks free from Asim Munir’s military misrule and the wider military’s obsession with political engineering, talk of stability or prosperity will remain a cruel joke. SIFC will be remembered not as a gateway to investment, but as a monument to yet another general’s arrogance—and the people of Pakistan will once again foot the bill.