For Pakistan, the issue is no longer who holds power; the 27th Amendment has settled that. The real test is where that power is aimed. Magnitude is fixed; direction is now decisive. Yes, Pakistan has entered a new phase. Power is concentrated. Judiciary restructured. Veto points are collapsing. The OODA loop – Observe, Orient, Decide, Act – is tightening. This is a structural change, not a cosmetic reform. And it now carries external validation: Riyadh is aligning capital, Washington is aligning strategy.
Power, by itself, is neutral. Raw power can stabilise or suffocate. Raw power can build or break. Raw power can suppress dissent or solve dysfunction. Raw power can accelerate decisions or amplify mistakes. Raw power can unlock capacity or unleash coercion. Raw power can drive delivery or deepen dependency. Raw power can secure frontiers or strain freedoms.
Rwanda turned power into competence. Egypt turned power into control. Rwanda turned concentrated power into concentrated modernisation. Egypt turned concentrated power into fear. Rwanda turned centralised power into sustained growth.
Saudi Arabia is turning consolidated power into rapid transformation. Syria turned coercive power into national collapse. Turkey turned disciplined power into defence innovation. Zimbabwe turned absolute power into economic ruin. Libya turned personalised power into permanent fragmentation.
Red alert: The 27th Amendment gives Pakistan the same choices.
A unified command system shortens the OODA loop. But shortening the loop is not enough. The loop must point towards security gains, job growth and speedy justice – not towards managing politics.
Yes, Rwanda shows what happens when discipline produces delivery. And yes, Egypt shows what happens when discipline produces fear. One path creates capacity. The other path creates compliance. Capacity builds nations. Compliance builds stagnation.
Pakistan’s governance failed not because of too much democracy or too little democracy. Pakistan’s governance failed because power was dispersed, diluted and directionless. Ministries pulled north and south. Provinces resisted. Courts intervened. Agencies duplicated. Everyone vetoed. No one delivered.
Pakistan’s hybrid will win if the direction of power is right. If power channels command into competence, not coercion. If power channels authority into performance, not politics. Raising more brigades increases raw strength, but victory depends on where those brigades are positioned.
You can field advanced aircraft, but campaign success hinges on target prioritisation. Platforms provide power; target folders provide direction. A battalion may have overwhelming firepower, but without controlled arcs and a clear fire plan, it wastes ammunition and misses targets. Strength matters, but aim decides outcomes.
A division of tanks is raw power. But the war turns on which axis they push. Steel matters; the route matters more. Pakistan’s future will not be decided by how much power the hybrid holds, but by where that power is aimed. To be certain, the 27th Amendment has created the structure. To be certain, the direction of power will decide the outcome.
An infantry platoon can carry thousands of rounds – that is power. But if those rounds are fired without a clear sector, a designated enemy, and a coordinated fire order, they achieve nothing. Ammunition gives you volume; direction of fire gives you effect. One is quantity. The other is purpose.
Pakistan has chosen concentration. Now it must choose purpose. History is witness that power decides nothing; the direction of power decides everything.
The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad. He tweets/posts @saleemfarrukh and can be reached at: [email protected]
