New Delhi: Pakistan’s sweeping constitutional amendments led to the abolition of the post of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Thursday, but the government is yet to notify the appointment of the country’s first chief of defence staff (CDF) under the new structure.
The position is to be held by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir. According to a Dawn report, the notification of his appointment has been delayed as the government works out the “finer details of the appointment”.
Under the 27th Constitutional Amendment, the COAS would be constitutionally recognised as the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), placing him on top of Pakistan’s armed services. The amendments were passed on 13 November and subsequently signed into law by President Asif Ali Zardari, timed right before Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad Mirza’s retirement.
With the retirement of Gen. Mirza Thursday, the 18th and last CJCSC—the tri-services coordinating post created in 1971—stood dissolved and the newly created post of CDF, consolidating the administration and operational command to the COAS, was to be announced Friday morning.
In Pakistan, the post is held until midnight. Field Marshal Munir was set to be appointed for the CDF-cum-COAS role starting Friday, giving him complete control over military and defence forces. The new role would also increase his tenure until at least 2035.
Control over nuclear assets
Munir’s elevation would see him exercising complete control over Pakistan’s nuclear command structure as well, with the creation of a new four star post of the Commander of National Strategic Command (CNSC).
The CNSC would be appointed by the prime minister on the recommendation of the army chief, and must come from within the army.
According to the fresh set of amendments to Article 243—on command and control of the military—of the Pakistan Constitution, the appointment and thereby extension of CNSC, as is mostly the case in the country, would be done solely on the CDF’s recommendation. The CNSC is exempted from any judicial review.
“Where the federal government promotes a member of the armed forces to the rank of field marshal, marshal of the air force or admiral of the fleet, such officer shall retain the rank, privileges and remain in uniform for life,” the law states. “Upon completion of the term of his command, under the law, the federal government shall determine the responsibilities and duties of field marshal, marshal of the air force or admiral of the fleet in the interest of the state.”
However, local reports said that the National Command Authority Act has not been amended yet and the structure of the Joint Services Headquarters remains unclear, for now.
In his farewell speech, the outgoing CJCSC called the move a “compulsion rather than a choice” and labelled the amendments as “much needed organisational reforms”.
“I see tri-services synergy, jointness and coordination as a compulsion rather than a choice, with much-needed organisational reform to meet these futuristic challenges,” Gen Mirza said in his farewell speech.
(Edited by Tony Rai)