Pakistani institutions are evolving rapidly. With executive authority increasingly in the hands of elected representatives, rather than dispersed among various competing institutions, the political establishment has been revitalized ¡ª and it has taken three important steps toward strengthening democracy and the rule of law.
Is Pakistan, a country long prone to military coups, finally developing a well-functioning political system?
On Nov. 27, Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain ¡ª acting on the prime minister¡¯s advice, as the constitution dictates ¡ª announced that Gen. Raheel Sharif would succeed Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani as chief of army staff, even though Sharif was not among the military establishment¡¯s favored candidates. Unlike Kayani ¡ª who has directed the Directorate-Gen. of Military Operations and the Inter-Services Intelligence (Pakistan¡¯s spy agency) ¡ª Sharif has not served in any of the positions that typically prepare someone to lead Pakistan¡¯s best-funded and most influential institution.
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