National Command Authority (Pakistan)
مقتدرہِ قومی کمان | |
Agency overview | |
---|---|
Formed | 2 February 2000[1] |
Preceding agency |
|
Type | Nuclear command and control |
Jurisdiction | Government of Pakistan |
Headquarters | Islamabad, Pakistan |
Employees | 30,000+[2] |
Agency executive |
|
The National Command Authority (NCA) is an independent federal agency of the Government of Pakistan that is responsible for safeguarding of the national security through the military applications of the nuclear science.[3]
With Prime Minister of Pakistan being its Chairperson, the NCA maintains and enhances the control and operational effectiveness of Pakistan's nuclear weapon stockpiles and serves as a policy institute to work to reduce the danger from weapons of mass destruction in Pakistan.[3]
Established in
Mission overview
The National Command Authority is charged with joint-space operations (such as
Organizational structure
The NCA consists of the following nine ex officio members:[5]
Ex-officio officials | Designation | Official | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Prime Minister of Pakistan | Chairman | Shehbaz Sharif | Chairman, NCA |
Foreign Minister of Pakistan |
Officiates | Bilawal Bhutto Zardari[6] | |
Interior Minister of Pakistan |
Officiates | Rana Sanaullah[7] | |
Finance Minister of Pakistan |
Officiates | Miftah Ismail[8] | |
Defence Minister of Pakistan | Officiates | Khawaja Muhammad Asif[9] |
|
Defence Production Minister of Pakistan | Officiates | Muhammad Israr Tareen[10] | |
Military leadership and representations | |||
Four-star officers | Inter-Services | Notes | |
Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee | Joint Staff HQ | General Sahir Shamshad Mirza |
Principal Military Adviser to the Government |
Chief of the Army Staff |
Army | Asim Munir |
|
Chief of Naval Staff | Navy | Amjad Khan Niazi |
|
Chief of Air Staff | Air Force | Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babur |
|
SPD & Intelligence leadership and representations | |||
Three-star general | Inter-Service | Notes | |
Director-General Strategic Plans Division |
SPD | Lt. General Yusuf Jamal |
Secretary, NCA |
Director-General of ISI | ISI | Lt. General Nadeem Anjum |
Intelligence Adviser |
The Director-General of the NCA's Strategic Plans Division (SPD) is the ex officio Secretary of the NCA and the SPD functions as the NCA's secretariat.[5] The current Secretary of NCA is Lt. General Yusuf Jamal.
Decision making in the NCA takes place through consensus and, in the event that consensus is not achieved, then through voting, with each member having a single vote.
Background
The
It is alleged by the former
In April 1999, the
Since the 1970s onward, the National Command Authority is responsible for policy formulation and will exercise employment and development control over all strategic nuclear forces and strategic organizations.[11] It consists of an Employment Control Committee and a Development Control Committee, as well as the Strategic Plans Division (SPD) which acts as its secretariat. The SPD is responsible for the management and administration of the country's tactical and strategic nuclear weapons stockpile. It was created the same year as the NCA was formed.[11]
Their directives are to be operationalized by a new SPD under the control of a Director-General at the rank of
Since its establishment, Pervez Musharraf, as President of Pakistan, had served its first chairman. However, after the 2008 General Elections, Pakistani lawmakers introduced a new law which was passed unanimously by the Pakistani Parliament.[14] The bill placed the NCA's Authority under the Prime Minister’s command.[3]
Subordinate Commands
The directives of the NCA are to be operationalised by the:
- Strategic Plans Division
See also
References
- ^ a b c "National Command Authority formed". Dawn archives 2000 (Press release). 2 February 2000. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
- ^ 900 SPD soldiers pass graduation from Abbotabad centers, April 20, 2012, CNBC Pakistan, "NameBright - Coming Soon". Archived from the original on 15 February 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
- ^ a b c d e Baqir Sajjad Syed (25 February 2016). "National Command Authority calls for strategic restraint pact in South Asia". Dawn (newspaper). Retrieved 7 June 2018.
- ^ a b "The National Command Authority". Federation of American Scientists (fas.org) website. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
- ^ a b http://www.na.gov.pk/acts/act_2010/national_command_authority_act2010_090310.pdf[dead link]
- ^ "Bilawal takes oath as foreign minister". Express Tribune (news). 27 April 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ "Rana Sanaullah Khan as Minister of Interior". Ministry of Interior Pakistan (official). 21 April 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ "Miftah Ismail's Portfolio at as finance minister". Government of Pakistan Finance Division (official). 27 April 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ "On 19 April 2022, H.E KHAWAJA MUHAMMAD ASIF took oath as 39th Federal Minister for Defence of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan". Ministry of Defence, Pakistan (official). 19 April 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ "MUHAMMAD ISRAR TAREEN , FEDERAL MINISTER FOR DEFENCE PRODUCTION". Ministry of Defence Production, Pakistan (official). 19 April 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ a b c d e NTI, Nuclear Threat Initiatives (5 May 1994). "Bare All and Be Damned" (PDF). Far Eastern Economic Review. p. 47. Retrieved 17 May 2012 – via NTI Nuclear and Missile Database.
The NCA determines the state of readiness which has to be maintained at all times...and lays down in great detail the policy of how the various components will be placed, protected and safeguarded
- ^ a b c "Pakistan Sets Up Weapons Control Authority". Times of India (Press release). 4 February 2000. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
- ^ "Lieutenant General Yusuf Jamal, Director General Strategic Plans Division on behalf of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, conferred distinguished service medals to thirty-four eminent scientists and engineers of the Strategic Plans Division (SPD) for their meritorious services during an Investiture Ceremony held at Chaklala Garrison". Inter Services Public Relations Pakistan. 11 October 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- ^ "Senate passes amended National Command Authority Bill 2016". Daily Times (newspaper). 22 December 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2018.