Pakistan has been mired for years in overlapping political, economic and security crises. But right now, it is feeling like a winner.
Its government has declared victory in Pakistan’s most expansive military clash with India in more than 50 years. Political parties and ordinary Pakistanis have staged rallies to celebrate the armed forces’ performance.
In analysts’ eyes, the four-day fight was closer to a draw. Pakistan suffered some blows it cannot hide. But by holding its own against its more powerful neighbor, it has for now pushed its dire problems into the background. A renewed, if fragile, public confidence in the state and in the military, Pakistan’s most dominant institution, has begun to emerge.
“It feels like we’ve won something. We’re not a failed state,” said Hafeez Siddiqui, a bank accountant in Karachi, the country’s largest city. “At least the military proved it’s still capable of the job it is meant to do.”
A few weeks ago, public sentiment was markedly different. A weary nation worried that a war with India would only add to its mounting troubles.
Pakistan has been racked by political polarization since the ouster in 2022 of Prime Minister Imran Khan — whose rise and fall were both believed to be supported by military generals — and his subsequent imprisonment. The legitimacy of the current government, which took power last year after an election widely viewed as manipulated by the military, remains contested.
The country’s economic situation is also grim, with rising fuel, food and electricity prices increasingly squeezing the poor and the middle class, exacerbating public discontent.
And Pakistan’s internal security landscape has deteriorated, as militant groups ramp up attacks in the country’s northeast, along the border with Afghanistan, and separatist insurgents test state control in the southwest.
These challenges had seemingly left Pakistan in a tenuous position as it prepared for an attack by India, a rising global power with an economy 10 times the size of Pakistan’s.
The crisis between the two nuclear-armed states erupted after 26 civilians were killed in a terrorist attack on April 22 in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir. India linked the attack to Pakistan — which denied any involvement — and vowed a serious response.
Two weeks later, India began its military strikes on Pakistan. The region was pushed to the brink of full-scale war over the following days, with attack drones piercing sovereign airspace and missiles lighting up the night skies. Diplomats in international capitals rushed to contain the emergency.
Then, just as swiftly, it ended with a U.S.-brokered cease-fire. Pakistan had negotiated an end to the fighting face to face with India, as its equal. In declaring victory, it claimed to have hit the Indian military in a particularly sensitive place, by downing some of its most advanced fighter jets.
Having rallied around the flag, Pakistanis were eager to accept the narrative of triumph. For the military, it was a timely opportunity to rehabilitate its image as a trusted pillar in Pakistani life and to deflect attention from accusations of political repression.
Gen. Syed Asim Munir, who assumed command of the military months after Mr. Khan’s ousting, was known for his reserved demeanor and limited public engagements.
He had become a despised figure among young, urban middle-class supporters of Mr. Khan as the military cracked down on his party, said Aqil Shah, a professor of South Asian military and security affairs at Georgetown University.
But General Munir adopted a more visible and assertive role as tensions with India escalated. Now, images of him appear on billboards and posters nationwide, casting him as a “national savior.”
“The halo of the victory can help the army to reframe its public image as a professional force rather than an unpopular, political one,” Mr. Shah said.
The rehabilitation of General Munir reflects a recurring pattern in Pakistan, where tensions with India have often boosted army chiefs’ public standing.
Gen. Pervez Musharraf, for example, gained popularity during the 1999 Kargil conflict with India, a deadly two-month confrontation that started when Pakistani forces infiltrated Indian-held territory. Later that year, General Musharraf took power in a coup.
But the support that the military has regained after the latest clash with India could evaporate as soon as the generals are seen as overreaching again in politics, said Bilal Gilani, the executive director of the research firm Gallup Pakistan.
The military also faces a threat to its image as it struggles with the country’s internal security challenges. Persistent waves of bombings and armed assaults targeting security forces have raised serious questions about the military’s ability to protect the nation.
Pakistan has heavily invested in its capacity to conduct conventional warfare against India, said Muhammad Amir Rana, director of the Pak Institute for Peace Studies, an Islamabad-based think tank.
“But tackling domestic insurgencies requires a fundamentally different approach,” he said, “one rooted in effective counterterrorism strategies and sustained political dialogue.”
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