Misplaced Pages

National Security Council
قومی سلامتی مجلس

Agency overview
Formed	March 25, 1969; 55 years ago (1969-03-25)
Headquarters	Prime Minister's Office
Agency executives	Prime Minister of Pakistan (Chairman) (Federal Secretary National Security Division)
Parent agency	Prime Minister's Office

The National Security Council (Urdu: قومی سلامتی مجلس) (reporting name: NSC) is a federal institutional and consultative body chaired by the prime minister of Pakistan as its chairman. The NSC is a principal forum that is mandated for considering national security and foreign policy matters with the senior national security advisers and Cabinet ministers. The idea and inception of National Security Council was first conceived in 1969 under the President Yahya Khan, its functions were to advise and assist the president and prime minister on national security and foreign policies.

The National Security Council was re-created by then-President and former General Pervez Musharraf in April 2004 under the National Security Council Act. Although, the NSC remains to as a statutory body, the National Security Council is not active since 2008, and the Cabinet Committee on National Security is fulfilling the role and purpose of the NSC. The first National Security Adviser was Tariq Aziz who was appointed in 2004 and was preceded by Major-General (retired) Mahmud Durrani in 2008. Since Durrani's deposing by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani in 2009, there has been no appointed new NSC adviser since then. The NSC was abandoned by the government of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), with a unified confirmations from the Parliament, and its functions has been taken under control by the Defence Cabinet Committee as of 2009.

The council was revived under Nawaz Sharif, who presides over meetings of the council when there is an emergency, such as hostilities between India and Pakistan, or a chance to discuss events related to the insurgency.

Structure

Former Constitution Basis

The Constitution of Pakistan in the past provided for the National Security Council. However, the provision was repealed by the 18th Amendment.

Permanent Officiates

The membership position does not depend on the will of the chairman, who is the elected Prime Minister of Pakistan. Depending on the agenda of the meeting, other concerned persons are also invited in the meeting of the NSC.

The usual cabinet-level meetings at the NSC takes the following agenda and members of the following authorities are usually invited:

Current

• National Command Authority (NCA)
• Cabinet Committee on National Security (CNS)
• Economic Coordination Committee (ECC)

Former

• Executive Committee of the Space Research Council (ECSRC) — deactivated since 1985.

Functions

The Council serves as a forum for consultation for the president and the federal government on matters of national security including the sovereignty, integrity, defence and security of the State and crisis management in general. It may also formulate recommendations to the president and the federal government in such matters.

National Security Advisers

History

Inception: 1969–1971

The Pakistan military has been sending many recommendations for the establishment of the National Security Council as akin and counterpart to the American National Security Council. A comprehensive report on NSC was written and submitted by the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral S.M. Ahsan in 1968. Admiral Ahsan submitted his handwritten report to President Yahya Khan's staff in Islamabad in 1969 and emphasized support for the establishment of the military dominated national security council composed of senior civil and military officials who would advise the government on national security issues and propose strategies to overcome the challenges involving the foreign policy matters. The proposal was forwarded to President Office, and then to President Yahya Khan with strong recommendations for its approval.

In 1969, President Yahya Khan established the National Security Council, after signing and issuing the presidential decree to establish this consultative institution. Major-General Ghulam Omar was appointed NSC's first secretary and was posted at the General Headquarters (GHQ) to perform operations of NSC under President Yahya Khan. The NSC secretariat was part of the President Office and the Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA) and was directly under the control of the military establishment which then-functioned under President Yahya Khan's staff.

The NSC secretariat was highly unpopular in public and political circles of Pakistan, and it quickly gained notoriety in civil society due to its involvement in political and civilian affairs. The NSC secretariat did not figure in the decision-making of the military government because President Yahya Khan ran his government administration as personalized enterprise relaying heavily on his close and trusted military and bureaucratic advisers. The NSC Secretary, Major-General Ghulam Omar, was less focused on national issues whilst kept his interest in combat development. The NSC Secretariat under Yahya Khan was only a paper organization.

The Genesis: 1985–1999

1998 NSC Debates on Nuclear tests

Participants in debates	Cadre/Office	Vote	Notes
Nawaz Sharif	Prime Minister	Y	Voted and Ordered tests
Sartaj Aziz	Finance Minister	N	Opposed but later retraced.
Mushahid Hussain	Information Minister	Y	First to propose in favor of tests
Gohar Ayub	Foreign Minister	Y
Ishaq Dar	Commerce Minister	Y	Support in favor of tests
Shamshad Ahmad	Foreign Secretary	Y
Gen Jehangir Karamat	Chairman Joint Chiefs Chief of army staff	Y	Spoke in favor but left decision on Sharif
Adm. Fasih Bokhari	Chief of Naval Staff	N	Opposed tests on moral ground
ACM PQ Mehdi	Chief of Air Staff	Y	Supported and provide logistics
Dr.Abdul Qadeer Khan	Senior scientist at KRL	Y	Debated and proposed tests
Dr.Ishfaq Ahmad	Senior scientist at PAEC	Y	Supported in favor tests
Dr.Samar Mubarakmand	Senior scientist at PAEC	Y	Debated in favor of tests
Munir Ahmad Khan	Senior scientist at PAEC	Y	Debated in favor of tests
Ahmad Kamal	Representative to UN	Y	Diplomatic in favor of tests
Javed Hashmi	Environmental Minister	Y	Debated in favor of tests

The concept of National Security Council as a bridge of stabilizing the civil-military relations has always been favoured by the military spectrum of Pakistan since 1971. In 1973, Pakistan military has sent repeated recommendations of peculiar structure of the NSC in which senior military commanders of Pakistan Armed Forces are ensured a seat at the table. The proposal was met with heated criticism in the state parliament and Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto instead issued a white paper on Higher Defence Organisations (HDO) in May 1976, outlining the institutional arrangements for dealing with defence and security affairs. This led the ultimate creation of the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) which has the mandate of responsibility of national defence rested with the prime minister. The DCC conveys matters to other important organisations involved in the national security decision-making on security affairs included the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the JS HQ of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and its Chairman, the Chiefs of Staff of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

After the enactment of the martial law by chief of army staff General Zia-ul-Haq in 1977, the DCC had remained active. After holding successful referendum, followed by non-partisan general elections in 1985, President General Zia-ul-Haq authored and inserted Article 152-A to the Constitution through the Revival of the Constitution Order (RCO), in March 1985. This led the establish a National Security Council for accommodating the high-ranking military leadership in policy making. The NSC was empowered to "make recommendations relating to the issue of a Proclamation of Emergency under Article 232, security of Pakistan and any other matter of national importance that may be referred to it by the President in consultation with the Prime Minister."

The NSC was opposed by most political circles and it had to be dropped as a part of the deal with the Parliament to get the parliamentary approval for the revised version of the Revival of the Constitution Order (RCO) as Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan, in October 1985. The NSC was dissolved by Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 1993 and reactivated the DCC operationalize in its place.

From 1998–99, there were only two NSC meetings took place which were chaired by the Prime Minister Sharif; first occasion when Sharif ordered Pakistan's nuclear tests in response to India's tests, as part of his tit-for-tat policy. At the NSC cabinet meeting, the Pakistani government, military, scientific, and civilian officials were participating in a debate, broadening, and complicating the decision-making process. Although, General Karamat debated towards presenting the national security and military point of view, the final decision was left on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's say. After the decision was made, General Karamat was notified of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's decision and asked the military to be stand-by orders. After providing the joint military logistics, the nuclear tests were eventually carried out on 28 May 1998, as Chagai-I, and on 30 May 1998 as codename: Chagai-II. As dawn broke over the Chagai mountains, Pakistan became the world's seventh nuclear power.

Secondly, the NSC meeting took place during the heights of the Kargil War in 1999. Empowerment of the NSC at the bureaucratic level was the primary issue that led to the forced relieve of Chairman Joint Chiefs General Jehangir Karamat in 1998. In an absence of the forum, the upheavals in civil–military relations led to the dismissal of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999 when he tried to dismissed then-Chairman Joint Chiefs Pervez Musharraf.

Reconstruction and developments: 2004–2008

2007 NSC Debates on Lal Masjid

Participants in debates	Cadre/Office	Vote
Pervez Musharraf	President (Chief of army staff)	Y
Shaukat Aziz	Prime Minister (Finance Minister)	Y
Gen Ehsan-ul-Haq	Chairman Joint Chiefs	Y
Khurshid Kasuri	Foreign Minister	Y
Adm Afzal Tahir	Chief of Naval Staff	N
Tariq Aziz	NSA	Y
ACM Tanvir Ahmed	Chief of Air Staff	Y
Aftab Sherpao	Interior Minister	Y
Shujaat Hussain	President, PML(Q)	N
Ijaz-ul-Haq	Religion minister	N
Tariq Azim	Pakistan Senator	N
Ali Khan	Attorney General	N
Muhammad Durrani	Information Minister	N

After staging a coup d'état against the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999, Chairman joint chiefs Pervez Musharraf announced the establishment of six member national security council in his first television speech. Through a presidential act, the concept of NSC was formally established under an order of the chief executive on 30 October 1999. The presidential order also led the establishment of the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) as a think tank. Although NRB gained quick constitutional establishment in 2000 the NSC's constitutional establishment did not really take off due to political consensus over the establishment of this institution. Finally in 2004, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz presented the National Security Council through an Act of Parliament and succeeded in constitutionally establishing the NSC for the first time in April 2004. Originally the NSC bill proposed that the NSC would also deal with the "matters relating to democracy, governance, and inter-provincial harmony." This sentence was later controversially replaced by President Musharraf with "crisis management" without explaining its operational. President and Chief of Army Staff General Pervez Musharraf created the office in Aiwan-e-Sadr, and appoint civil bureaucrat Tariq Aziz as the first National Security Advisor. According to PILDT, since its reestablishment, Musharraf conveyed very few national security meetings, and most meetings were conducted to discuss political situations only.

He resigned from the post of NSC secretariat when Musharraf resigned from presidency on 18 August 2008. He was succeeded by Mahmud Ali Durrani as the second National Security Advisor, directly reporting to the Prime minister Secretariat. Durrani was notably deposed by the prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani in January 2009 for "not consulting the Prime Minister while giving statements on foreign relation matters". The matter in question was the acceptance by the Government of Pakistan of the Pakistani nationality of the sole surviving terrorist Ajmal Kasab, who was involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks and was in the custody of the Mumbai police.

Abolition and suspension (2008–2009)

After the incident, Prime Minister Gillani vowed to abolish the National Security Council in February 2009. The NSC remains to stay as statue on the constitution, however, the NSC secretariat is not active since 2008, but instead the Defence Committee of the Cabinet is re-activated in its place by the current government.

Since 2009, there has been no appointed new NSC adviser and no national security meetings have been conducted since then. Its operations and mandate has been integrated to the DCC meeting, and there has been ninth DCC meeting taken place since 2009.

Restorative status (2013–present)

Upon conclusion of the general elections in 2013, the PML(N)'s strategists indicated the restoration of the NSC to the news media. On immediate basis, Prime Minister Sharif appointed Sartaj Aziz as National Security Advisor (NSA). On 9 September 2013, Prime Minister Sharif proposed that dialogue with the Pakistani military would create a civil-military partnership, putting the military and an elected government on the same page for the first time in Pakistan's history. After reconstituting the Cabinet Committee on National Security (CNS), with military gaining representation in the country's politics, the NSC came into effect as an influential policy institution.

Decision came from Prime Minister Sharif to reconstitute the NSC to improve coordination between the civil and military institutions in order to deal with a nagging far-right insurgency that has killed and maimed thousands of Pakistanis over the last few years.

According to the political scientist and civic-military relations expert, Aqil Shah, Sharif finally did what exactly former chairman joint chiefs General Karamat had called for in 1998. Since then, the NSC meetings with Prime Minister Sharif have been taking place frequently.

See also

• Constitution of Pakistan
• Pakistan Armed Forces

Sources

1. ^ PILDT. "The Evolution of National Security Council in Pakistan". Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency. PILDT. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
2. ^ Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDT). "Performance of the Defence Committee of the Cabinet of Pakistan". Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency. Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDT). Retrieved 2 March 2013.
3. ^ "Border clashes: PM summons National Security Council meeting - The Express Tribune". tribune.com.pk. 8 October 2014. Archived from the original on 27 July 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
4. "Crucial National Security Committee meeting begins". Archived from the original on 2014-10-11. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
5. ^ Jaspal, Zafar Nawaz (16 March 2002). "National Security Council: Implications for Pakistan's Political System". www.defencejournal.com. Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan: Defence Journal. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
6. Rizvi, Hasan Askari (2012). "Evolution of the Concept of NSC in Pakistan" (PDF). National Security CounciI: AA debate on institutions and processes for decision-making on security issues. Islamabad: Pildat publications. pp. 17–20, 34. ISBN 978-969-558-265-7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
7. ^ Singh, Sushant (23 October 2015). "Naseer Janjua as Pakistan's NSA further diminishes PM Nawaz Sharif". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 28 October 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
8. Bhattacharjee, Dhrubajyoti. "Pakistan and the Failure of the NSA Level Dialogue". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
9. ^ Khan, Sumaira (23 September 2013). "Battling militancy: Govt revives National Security Council". Express Tribune, 2013. Express Tribune, 2013. Archived from the original on 19 March 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
10. "Janjua takes over as Pakistan's NSA". Gulf News. 23 October 2015. Archived from the original on 30 October 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
11. ^ Azam, Rai M. S. (20 June 2000). "When Mountains Move – The Story of Chagai". Defence Journal. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
12. "Mushahid Hussain Syed". Archived from the original on 15 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
13. Khan, Feroz Hassan (2012). Eating grass the making of the Pakistan's atomic bomb. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0804784809.
14. Ahmad Noorani (October 11, 2011). "Why Admiral Bokhari is a favourite of Zardari, rejected by Nawaz". The News International. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
15. Hali, SM (25 March 2009). "A new dawn". Special report on PAF by SM Hali. THe Nation, 2009. THe Nation. Archived from the original on 26 November 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
16. Koppel, Andrea (27 May 1998). "World — Asia-Pacific U.S. sources: Pakistan edging closer to nuclear tests". State Department Correspondent Andrea Koppel, Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre, Reporter Kasra Naji and Reuters contributed to this report. CNN Pakistan Bureau. CNN Pakistan Bureau. Archived from the original on 15 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
17. Hashmi, Javed (2005). "My Father and Pakistan Movement" (scribd). In Waheed, Manzar (ed.). (Yes! I am Rebel) ىاں‬! ميں‬ باغىى ہوں‬ (1st ed.). Lahore, Pun. Pakistan: Sager Publication. p. 409. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
18. ^ Schaffer, Howard B.; Schaffer, Teresita C. (2011). "§Pakistan's politicians". How Pakistan negotiates with the United States : riding the roller coaster. Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace. ISBN 978-1-60127-075-7. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
19. Azam, Rai Muhammad Saleh (2 June 2000). "When Mountains Move – The Story of Chagai". Article written by RMS Azam ives a detailed account of events and personalities leading to Pakistan first nuclear explosion. The Nation, 1998. The Nation, 1998. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
20. Jones, Owen Bennett (2003). Pakistan eye of the storm (2nd ed.). New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-10147-3. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
21. Jaisingh, Hari (9 October 1998). "Beleaguered Sharif wins first round". Tribune India, 1998. Tribune India. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
22. Cohen, Stephen Philip (2004). The idea of Pakistan (1st pbk. ed.). Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2004. p. 150. ISBN 0-8157-9761-3. Retrieved 7 January 2015. Jehangir Karamat National Security Council.
23. ^ GEO News (31 July 2007). "Important events coverage by GEO TV". GEO News, 2007. GEO News. Archived from the original on 25 December 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
24. Dutt, Sanjay (2000). Inside Pakistan : 52 years outlook. New Delhi: APH Pub. Corp. ISBN 8176481572.
25. Harris, Hanif (7 June 2013). "Cabinet appointed by Sharif". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
26. "Nawaz Sharif chairs All Party Meeting". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 9 September 2013. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2018 – via Business Standard.
27. ^ Shah, Aqil (2014). "Conclusion". The Armed Forces and Democracy. Harvard, U.S: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-41977-3. Retrieved 7 January 2015.

Additional works on NSC

• Durrani, Mahmood Ali. (21 September 2013). "On National Security". thenews.com.pk/. Islamabad, Pakistan: News International. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
• Jaspal, Zafar Nawaz (16 March 2002). "National Security Council: Implications for Pakistan's Political System". defencejournal.com/. Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan: Defence Journal. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
• Hussain, PhD, Dr. Riffat (9 October 2013). "Securing the system". Opinion articiel written and published by Karachi University's political science professor Dr. Riffat Hussain. Islamabad: Herald, Dawn area studies. Herald, Dawn area studies. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

Constitutional analysis

• Constitution of Pakistan. "Article: 152A National Security Council". pakistanconstitutionlaw.com/. Supreme Court of Pakistan Press. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
• Government of Pakistan (12 October 1999). "Appointment of National Security Council". pakistani.org/. Govt. of Pakistan. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

Bibliography

• Henderson, Annalisa; Miller, Isabel (2006). "Pakistan". In Preston, Ian; Rowe, Annamarie (eds.). Political Chronology of Central, South, and East Asia. London : Europa Publications. p. 277. ISBN 1135356807.
• Akbar, M.K. (1997). Pakistan from Jinnah to Sharif. New Delhi: Mittal Publications. ISBN 8170996740.

External links

• National Security Council of Pakistan

v t e Cabinet Secretariat (Pakistan)
Aviation Division	Bureau of Air Safety Investigation Civil Aviation Authority Airports Security Force Pakistan Airports Authority Pakistan Meteorological Department Pakistan International Airlines Corporation
Cabinet Division	Cabinet Committee on National Security Economic Coordination Committee National Archives of Pakistan Pakistan Tourism Development Corp Printing Corporation of Pakistan Gazette of Pakistan Department of Communications Security Naya Pakistan Housing & Development Authority National Electric Power Regulatory Authority Public Procurement Regulatory Authority Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Special Technology Zones Authority Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority National Documentation Wing Frequency Allocation Board
Establishment Division	Federal Public Service Commission Civil Services Academy Federal Employees Benevolent and Group Insurance Fund Akthar Hameed Khan National Centre for Rural Development National School of Public Policy Pakistan Academy for Rural Development Management Services Wing Secretariat Training Institute Staff Welfare Organization
Poverty Alleviation Division	Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal BISP PPAF
Ministries of the Federal Government of Pakistan

v t e Cabinet of the Government of Pakistan
Executive	Prime Minister of Pakistan Prime Minister's Office Deputy Prime Minister
Ministries	Cabinet Secretariat Aviation Establishment National Security Social Safety Climate Change Commerce Communications Defence Defence Production Economic Affairs Energy Petroleum Power Education National Heritage Finance Revenue Food Security Foreign Affairs Frontiers Health Housing Human Rights Industries Information & Broadcasting Inter-Provincial Inter-Faith Justice Kashmir Affairs Interior Maritime Affairs Narcotics Control Overseas Pakistanis Parliamentary Affairs Planning Privatization Railways Science & Technology IT Water Resources
Former	Environment Tourism Minorities Statistics
Ministries of the Federal Government of Pakistan Federal Secretary

v t e Pakistani Intelligence Community
Executive	National Security Council CNS JS HQ National Intelligence Coordination Committee (NICC)
Internal	Intelligence Bureau (IB) Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Police Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Special Branch (SB) National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) ANF Intelligence Branch (ANF)
External	Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)
Defence	Military Intelligence (MI) Naval Intelligence (NI) Air Intelligence (AI)
Civil Armed Forces Intelligence	Frontier Corps Field Intelligence Pakistan Rangers Intelligence Wings GB Scouts Intelligence Wing Pakistan Coast Guards Field Intelligence Frontier Constabulary Intelligence
Economic	National Accountability Bureau (NAB) DG Intelligence and Investigation (DGII) Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU)
Intelligence measurement	Threat Matrix Strategic depth
Intelligence reforms	Ordinance VIII (1948) HRC Report (1974) SuRC Report (1992) AC Report (2013) Protection of Pakistan Ordinance (2014)

v t e Pakistan Armed Forces
Military history of Pakistan
Leadership	Commander-in-Chief President of Pakistan Chief Executive Prime Minister of Pakistan Parliament Senate Committee on Defence National Assembly Committee on Defence Cabinet Committee on National Security National Security Council Ministers Defence Secretary Defence Production Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Chief of Army Staff Chief of Air Staff Chief of Naval Staff
Services	Army Navy Marines Air Force Inter-Services Intelligence Public Relations Selection Board National Command Authority Nursing Service Armed Forces Band
Paramilitary	Civil Armed Forces National Guard Strategic Plans Division Force
Personnel	Awards and decorations Women Ranks and insignia Army Navy Marines Air Force
Business interests	Pakistani Defence Industry Defence Housing Authority Foundations Fauji (Joint) Askari (Army) Bahria (Navy) Shaheen (Air Force)
Criticism	Establishment Gang of Four Bangladesh genocide
Categories (Army • Air Force • Navy)

• Political history of Pakistan
• National security councils
• 1969 establishments in Pakistan
• 1972 disestablishments in Pakistan
• 1985 establishments in Pakistan
• 1990 disestablishments in Pakistan
• 2004 establishments in Pakistan
• 2008 disestablishments in Pakistan
• 2013 establishments in Pakistan
• History of the foreign relations of Pakistan
• Pakistan federal departments and agencies
• Pakistani intelligence agencies