Pakistan has heard the promise before: give extraordinary power to the people who say they can repair a broken system, and accountability will follow. It seldom follows on its own. In 2026, as military command, investment policy and civilian administration are discussed together, the question is more urgent than whether the state is being redesigned. Who authorises the redesign, who can examine its decisions, and who bears the cost when it fails?
Columnist Farrukh Saleem’s “reformist army” argument captures a real change in ambition. The military’s place in economic coordination is visible in the Special Investment Facilitation Council’s published structure, which lists the army chief on its apex committee by special invitation. Saleem argues that the project reaches beyond influencing governments toward changing how institutions work. That is an interpretation worth testing against outcomes; calling a change reform cannot establish that it improves governance. Board Of Investment
