Pakistan, Aug. 5 -- Pakistan's civil-military relationship has long defined its democratic trajectory. Even the world, including the US, has accepted it as a new normal.

While the country is a multiparty parliamentary democracy, the military establishment remains a dominant actor, shaping alliances, policy outcomes, the economy, and even the rise and fall of dysfunctional governments. In recent years, coalition governments in the National Assembly have often depended on strategic alignments with the military to form national and foreign policies. These alliances hold as long as they serve mutual interests. When frictions emerge, the result is often political upheaval and hostile rhetoric, as evidenced by the dramatic fallout between the ...