Islamabad, Pakistan — Pakistan's parliament in late August passed legislation that, for the first time, spells out in statute the powers of the country's most senior military office, continuing a restructuring of the military's command structure that began with last November's 27th constitutional amendment.
The National Assembly on August 20 approved the Defence Forces of Pakistan Act, 2026, and an amendment to the National Command Authority Act, 2010. Together, the two laws give legal shape to the office of the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), created through that amendment last year. The bills were not on the National Assembly's original agenda; the cabinet cleared them that morning, and they passed within hours. The 27th amendment moved through parliament in a similarly compressed timeframe last November.
The changes come just over a year after Pakistan's four-day conflict with India in May 2025. Analysts say the changes mark the most significant restructuring of Pakistan's higher military command since 1976, when the post of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) was created to coordinate, in a limited way, between the army, navy and air force.
That post has now been abolished. In its place is a Defence Forces Headquarters (DFHQ), headed by the CDF, currently Field Marshal Asim Munir, who also serves as army chief. Al Jazeera sent questions to the military's media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations, about the rationale behind the changes and how the navy and air force will be represented at the new headquarters. It received no response.
Pakistan's military, and the army in particular, has dominated the country's political life since independence in 1947, staging four coups and ruling directly for more than three decades. No elected prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term. The new legislation formalises a degree of authority the army chief has often held informally.
The new law gives the CDF "operational command and control of the Armed Forces", making him responsible to the federal government for military operations across all three services, not just the army. This creates a genuine, codified chain of command for the first time: the prime minister, then the CDF and his new headquarters, then the individual service chiefs, and finally formations on the ground.
However, critics argue that the changes may upset the balance between the three services. Under the new law, the Commander of the National Strategic Command (CNSC), the post overseeing the country's nuclear-capable forces, must come from the army and is appointed on the CDF's recommendation. The navy and air force are excluded from the post altogether. Analysts say this further entrenches army dominance.
The new law also indirectly touches Pakistan's nuclear command structure. The CDF is now expected to serve as deputy chairman of the National Command Authority (NCA), the body that oversees Pakistan's nuclear weapons and is chaired by the prime minister. Military analysts claim that these changes weaken civilian control and give the army chief excessive power.
However, some legal experts view the law as a routine follow-through required after a constitutional amendment, comparing it to how Canada, the UK and Australia have each legislated the powers of their own top defence officers. But the comparison is limited, as in other countries the equivalent post is separate, historically rotated between the navy, army and air force, and is not held by the sitting head of any one service.
Source: www.aljazeera.com