Across South Asia, Generation Z has emerged as an unexpected force in politics. Over the last few years, students and youth in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka have driven unprecedented political change. In India too, the political consequences of an increasingly assertive Gen Z could be profound over the longer term. What about Pakistan? Will it forever remain the Subcontinent’s exception?

Pakistan has the same youthful demographics as the rest of the region, and even deeper economic anxieties. Yet its youth has struggled to shape the country’s political trajectory. The army’s pervasive dominance and extensive control have made popular mobilisation exceptionally difficult. In Pakistan, change still appears to come from the top; the army remains the principal source of political change. While the rest of South Asia debates how young citizens are reshaping politics, Pakistan is once again discussing Rawalpindi’s power grab dressed up as reform.

The latest debate was triggered by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s declaration that Pakistan’s system of governance had effectively collapsed and required a sweeping overhaul. If he were an ordinary political figure, Naqvi’s call for radical reform would have been dismissed as loose talk. Coming from Rawalpindi’s current civilian subordinate, however, Naqvi’s remarks deserve close attention.

It is evident that Pakistan’s military establishment is contemplating not merely another intervention in politics but a redesign of the state. No authoritative draft of a revised political structure is in the public domain. Yet the........

© Indian Express