ABSTRACT
This chapter critically interrogates sport as a strategic instrument of statecraft under the direct and indirect rule of Pakistan’s military juntas and civil-military establishment. Under successive Pakistani military regimes, cricket, hockey, football (soccer), squash, and other sports have become increasingly political projects aimed at bolstering legitimacy at home and projecting soft power abroad. The methodological framework of this chapter combines a descriptive review of National Sport Federation management based on official documents and federation websites, with a focus on historical case studies of selected sporting bodies’ leadership. This two-pronged approach not only maps the organizational contours of contemporary sports administration but also anchors them within a broader historical trajectory of politicization and militarization. In doing so, it creates a holistic perspective on the entrenched relationship between Pakistan’s sporting institutions and military authority. Finally, a new theoretical framework of Militarized Sports Praxis flows directly from a case study of Pakistan and previous literature on soft power, sportswashing, and political sociology.
