The most radical transformation of the top defense organization came into 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 was yet to notify the appointment of the country’s first chief of defense forces under the new structure.
The implementation 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 coordination position created in 1976 was dissolved, ending nearly five decades of institutional representation of the Navy and Air Force at the top of military decision-making.
General Mirza retired as the 18th and final occupant of the CJCSC office, a position that critics said never fully fulfilled its intended role of ensuring strong coordination between the three services.
Under the restructured command architecture, joint operations oversight, multi-domain planning and inter-service integration have been consolidated into the newly created Chief of Defense Forces (CDS), who will simultaneously serve as Chief of Army Staff (COAS), thereby merging operational, administrative and strategic authority into a single dual-duty role.
Although the government had not notified the appointment of the CDF and COAS until Thursday afternoon, no surprises were expected.
Current COAS Field Marshal Asim Munir will take over, restoring his tenure to a new five-year term with the possibility of another five-year extension. This would keep him in charge until at least 2030, and potentially until 2035.
Insiders say the delay in notification was due to final work being done on the finer details of the appointment.
Field Marshal Munir’s anticipated promotion comes with a significant expansion of authority, including greater influence over the nuclear command structure through the creation of a new four-star position, Commander of the National Strategic Command (CNSC).
The CNSC will oversee unified strategic operations that are now spread across the services. The appointment, reappointment and extension of the CNSC are tied solely to the recommendation of the CDF and are protected from judicial review through a broad exclusion clause that legal experts describe as unprecedented.
The reform of the hierarchy of the armed forces is anchored in the amendment to article 243, which governs the command and control of the armed forces. Parallel revisions to the Army, Navy and Air Force Laws eliminated the office of the CJCSC, redefined internal hierarchies and strengthened the role of the CDF, expanding the influence of the army chief in joint and strategic domains.
However, the National Command Authority Law has not yet been amended to reflect the new constitutional reality.
Despite the abolition of the CJCSC position, the future structure of the Joint Services Headquarters remains uncertain and details are still being finalized.
“I extend my best wishes and prayers to the three services and in particular to the tri-service headquarters, whatever form and behavior it may take, to discharge the renewed responsibilities with dedication and commitment,” General Mirza said in his parting remarks.
Supporters of the restructuring argue that a higher defense organization had long been “anachronistic” and inadequate for modern warfare spanning cyber, space, information and unmanned systems. They say eliminating duplication and empowering a single “strategic integrator” was essential to efficiency.
“I see the synergy, articulation and coordination of the three services as a compulsion rather than a choice, with organizational reform much needed to meet these futuristic challenges,” General Mirza said, defending the reform.
Critics, including former service chiefs and defense academics, warn that the model centralizes unprecedented authority in one office while diminishing the roles of the air force and navy, precisely when maritime competition, threats to airspace and technological integration require greater relevance.
