India, April 19 -- In May 2023, when protesters stormed military-linked installations across Pakistan following the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, the aura of the country's most powerful institution fractured in full public view. For chief of army staff, Asim Munir, early into his tenure, the moment marked a political and institutional low, with the army facing rare, direct anger and accusations of overt interference in civilian politics.

For the next two years, Munir operated from a position of constrained legitimacy. The military remained dominant, but its authority was contested. He was seen less as a strategic commander and more as a political enforcer presiding over a deepening confrontation with opposition forces. The ...