Irrespective of the outcome of a political or a military crisis in Pakistan, it is Rawalpindi that emerges as the winner. Asim Munir’s elevation to the rank of field marshal — the second army chief to be honoured with this position in Pakistan’s history — bears testament to Rawalpindi — the military headquarter — calling the shots over Islamabad, that country’s political headquarter. Mr Munir’s promotion was necessitated by a number of factors. A military debacle against India would be an existential crisis for Pakistan’s political-military apparatus. So the appearance of gaining the upper hand against India in the recent military escalation had to be created and sustained; honouring Mr Munir was a key act in that hollow script. This development should also be viewed as part of a long-established quid pro quo ritual between Pakistan’s political arm and the military. With the myth of Mr Munir teaching India a lesson inserted in the public discourse, the army chief would now be able to further cement his place within Pakistan’s military establishment. Islamabad will also be hoping that this would pacify Mr Munir not to further tighten the leash on his political lapdog — Shehbaz Sharif’s government.

New Delhi must take note of this charade being enacted across the border. This is because India has a radical opponent in Mr Munir. His speech endorsing the two nation theory just before the Pahalgam horror revealed Mr Munir’s ideological strain: the Indian external affairs minister, S. Jaishankar, is already on record blaming
Mr Munir's "extreme religious outlook" for the tragedy at Pahalgam. Mischievous efforts by Pakistan to bleed India with similar terror strikes cannot thus be ruled out with such a man at the helm of Pakistan’s affairs. Mr Munir’s centrality in Pakistan’s power edifice also means that neither Nawaz Sharif nor the jailed Imran Khan — politicians who have had a history of confrontation with the military bosses — is now in a position to change the direction of Pakistan’s politics. An earnest appeal for dialogue and peace from Pakistan’s political leadership is thus almost inconceivable now. This implies that India, while continuing to invest in efforts to isolate its recalcitrant neighbour economically, diplomatically and strategically, must keep a watchful eye on Pakistan.