The most sweeping transformation of the higher defence organisation took effect at midnight on Thursday with the abolition of the post of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) under the 27th Constitutional Amendment, even as the government had yet to notify the appointment of the country’s first chief of defence forces under the new structure.
The operationalisation of the amendment to Article 243 of the Constitution, passed by parliament on November 13 and signed into law by President Asif Ali Zardari, was timed to coincide with the retirement of the last CJCSC, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza.
With his departure, the tri-service coordinating post created in 1976 stood dissolved, ending nearly five decades of institutional representation for the navy and air force at the apex of military decision-making.
Gen Mirza retired as the 18th and final occupant of the CJCSC office, a position which critics argued never fully realised its intended role of ensuring robust coordination among the three services.
Under the restructured command architecture, oversight of joint operations, multi-domain planning and inter-service integration has been consolidated in the newly created chief of defence forces (CDS), who will simultaneously serve as chief of the army staff (COAS), thus merging operational, administrative and strategic authority into a single dual-hatted role.
Although the government had not notified the CDF-cum-COAS appointment by Thursday evening, no surprises were expected.
Current COAS Field Marshal Asim Munir is set to assume the role, which resets his tenure to a fresh five-year term with the possibility of another five-year extension. This would keep him in command until at least 2030, and potentially through 2035.
Insiders say the delay in the notification stemmed from final work being done on the finer details of the appointment.
Field Marshal Munir’s anticipated elevation comes with a significant expansion of authority, including enhanced influence over nuclear command structure through the creation of a new four-star post, the Commander of National Strategic Command (CNSC).
The CNSC will oversee unified strategic operations now spread across the services. The appointment, reappointment and extension of the CNSC are tied solely to the CDF’s recommendation and shielded from judicial review through a sweeping exclusion clause that legal experts describe as unprecedented.
The overhaul of the armed forces’ hierarchy is anchored in the amendment to Article 243, which governs command and control of the military. Parallel revisions to the Army, Navy and Air Force Acts have eliminated the CJCSC office, redefined internal hierarchies and strengthened the CDF’s role, expanding the army chief’s influence across joint and strategic domains.
However, the National Command Authority Act has not yet been amended to reflect the new constitutional reality.
Despite the abolition of the CJCSC post, the future structure of the Joint Services Headquarters remains uncertain, with details still being finalised.
“I extend my best wishes and prayers for all the three services and in particular the tri-services headquarters, whatever form and demeanour it takes, for fulfilling the renewed responsibilities with dedication and commitment,” Gen Mirza said in his farewell remarks.
Supporters of the restructuring argue that a higher defence organisation had long been “anachronistic” and ill-suited to modern warfare spanning cyber, space, information and unmanned systems. They say eliminating duplication and empowering a single “strategic integrator” was essential for efficiency.
“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, defending the overhaul.
Critics, including former service chiefs and defence scholars, warn that the model centralises unprecedented authority in one office while diminishing the roles of the air force and navy, precisely when maritime competition, airspace threats and technological integration require their heightened relevance.
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