Margalla News | Special research review
Pakistan's political system has long been described as a "hybrid" arrangement: a nominally elected government alongside significant military influence over national security and key decisions. In a January 28, 2026 column, Dr Ayesha Siddiqa asked whether current conditions could meaningfully be described as a partnership between two institutions or whether the balance of power had shifted toward one side.
Siddiqa has long researched the economic and political roles of Pakistan's military. In her view, assessing state power solely through the presence or absence of martial law is inadequate. Institutional pressure, electoral processes, relations with the judiciary, access to media and influence over policymaking can also reveal where authority actually resides.
An immediate trigger for her column was legal proceedings and sentences involving human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha. Siddiqa presented the case as an illustration of the relationship between freedom of expression and state power. Court rulings, statutory provisions, potential appeals and the government's arguments are distinct legal questions; their existence does not preclude examining the fairness of judicial procedures and political freedoms.
The author's central objection concerns the language used to describe relations between political and military leadership. A partnership generally implies that both sides exercise meaningful decision-making power. She argues that the term may conceal reality when elected officials have limited independence, dissenting voices face stronger pressure and powerful institutions enjoy relatively little scrutiny.
Nonetheless, classification of a country's political system cannot be decided by a single case. Measures such as free elections, parliamentary legislation, patterns of judicial decisions, oversight of military budgets, provincial autonomy and legal protections for citizens are also necessary. Siddiqa presents a political theory that should be tested against diverse empirical evidence.
Pakistani officials typically emphasise that existing arrangements are necessary to protect national security and constitutional order, while elected governments assert their democratic legitimacy. Critical assessment of such claims is not an attack on institutions; it is fundamental to the concept of democratic accountability.
Questioning the military's political and economic roles does not deny the sacrifices of ordinary soldiers and security personnel killed by terrorism. Professional respect for state institutions and constitutional oversight of their powers can coexist. The real issue is whether citizens can identify who authorised the use of power and where accountability lies.
Freedom of expression raises a difficult distinction: online misinformation, genuine incitement and peaceful criticism are often grouped together. For the rule of law to work, offences must be defined narrowly, clearly and consistently, and journalists, lawyers and opposition politicians should not fear punishment merely for disagreement.
Pakistan's history gives weight to this debate. Changes in elected governments, recurrent military interventions and struggles among constitutional institutions have affected public trust. Economic stability is not determined by statistics alone: investors and citizens want decisions that are predictable and subject to law.
A durable response is not to treat any political party or individual as the answer to every problem, but to build institutional safeguards for meaningful parliamentary scrutiny, an independent judiciary, equal application of the law, transparent defence and economic policies, and journalism free from intimidation.
Siddiqa's writing is forceful and some of her conclusions are contestable, but the underlying question remains: how much effective freedom do citizens' votes, courts and elected representatives enjoy in determining policy in Pakistan? An evidence-based answer can clarify public debate.
Sources and acknowledgments: Margalla News thanks Dr Ayesha Siddiqa and the original publisher for the research and commentary underlying this review. This is an independent Margalla News analysis, not a copy or complete translation of the original English work. Attributed opinions remain the researcher's own and independent conclusions are identified separately.