The intricate power structure within Pakistan’s military sees the Army maintain overarching authority, significantly shaping the nation’s defence strategy and economic landscape. This pervasive influence extends to strategic assets, with the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and Pakistan Navy (PN) reporting to the Army-run Strategic Plans Division (SPD), further solidifying the Army’s control over Pakistan’s Military Power Dynamics deterrence posture, including its capabilities against India.
The Army’s reach extends far beyond conventional military operations, encompassing a vast business empire that blurs the lines between military and civilian economic activity. Conglomerates like the Fauji Foundation, Army Welfare Trust, Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), and National Logistics Cell (NLC) operate extensive commercial ventures. These Pakistan’s Military Power Dynamics entities are dominant players in Pakistan’s economy, with interests spanning real estate, housing development, highway construction, mining, and food production, including sugar and cereals. They hold significant sway over large segments of Pakistan’s retail markets.
Critics highlight concerns over these ventures, citing tax exemptions and preferential treatment that create an uneven playing field. While ostensibly created as welfare schemes for soldiers, these concerns now play an indispensable role in Pakistan’s economy, often providing lucrative post-retirement positions for Army officers.
In stark contrast, the Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan Navy operate relatively modest, welfare-oriented ventures. The PAF’s Shaheen (Falcon) Foundation engages in limited real estate and healthcare services. Similarly, the PN’s Bahria Foundation focuses on education, running schools and colleges, and providing restricted port and ship management services. These ventures, while beneficial, do not command the economic footprint or influence of their Army counterparts.
Operationally, the Pakistan Navy maintains a lower domestic profile compared to the Pakistan Air Force. Despite its growing relevance under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the PN has historically been marginalized in national defence priorities, receiving limited funding for modernization. Its posture remains largely defensive, primarily focused on safeguarding Pakistan’s 1,000-kilometer coastline and ensuring regional deterrence rather than projecting power. Efforts to develop a credible sea-based second-strike nuclear capability have also faced slow progress due to financial constraints and political inertia.
Limited Political Clout: Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan Navy’s Marginalized Influence
Unlike the Army, the Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan Navy have not cultivated extensive political or media patronage networks. This lack of civilian and media engagement further marginalizes their individual or dual influence over national security policy. Their role in shaping crucial debates on national development, crisis management, and foreign policy remains negligible.
A key factor contributing to this marginalization is their structural inability to execute a coup or enforce martial law. Political power in Pakistan traditionally demands a visible “boots on the ground” presence in urban centers, a historical dominance in counter-insurgency operations, and readily deployable tanks or infantry brigades near the capital – capabilities the PAF and PN inherently lack.
Traditionally, both the Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan Navy have prided themselves on a technocratic ethos, emphasizing specialized proficiency and operational capability. The PAF, in particular, has focused on aerospace innovation. This ethos is reinforced by their broad-based and inclusive recruitment across all four of Pakistan’s provinces, a significant contrast to the Army, which has historically drawn disproportionately from Punjab and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The fallout from Operation Sindoor, particularly the Pakistan Air Force’s display of accuracy and innovation, and its (as yet unconfirmed) claim of five Indian kills, has exposed underlying tensions within Pakistan’s military Power Dynamic leadership. While no overt conflict is visible, the Pakistan Air Force’s enhanced operational significance and the Army’s perceived lapses are fostering a silent struggle for influence, particularly over the national security narrative and the execution of high-tech warfare.
Pakistan’s Military Power Dynamics could shift if the Pakistan Air Force continues to outperform the Army in high-profile operations, strengthens its technological partnerships with China, and successfully cultivates influence among civilian or policymaking circles. Such advancements could well secure a stronger institutional voice for the Pakistan Air Force within Pakistan’s formidable military establishment.