Pakistan’s 27th Constitutional Amendment, passed on 13 November 2025, formalises military supremacy by empowering the army chief and weakening civilian and judicial institutions. The shift has major implications for Pakistan’s stability and its relations with India.

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• Amendment creates permanent Chief of Defence Forces post
• Army chief Asim Munir now controls all armed forces
• Five-star officers granted lifelong legal immunity
• New Federal Constitutional Court replaces Supreme Court powers
• Judiciary appointments now more tightly controlled by executive
• Provinces risk reduced fiscal and administrative autonomy
• Critics call move a constitutional coup and blow to democracy
• Munir’s dominance heightens internal instability and polarisation
• India faces a more militarised, unpredictable Pakistani leadership
• Nuclear threats, Kashmir rhetoric raise risk of miscalculation