Pakistan Abolishes CJCSC Post; Field Marshal Asim Munir Becomes First Chief of Defence Forces

At 0000 hours on Friday, 28 November 2025, the office of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) was formally abolished with the retirement of General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, marking the most sweeping restructuring of Pakistan’s higher defence organisation since 1976.

The dissolution, enacted through the 27th Constitutional Amendment to Article 243 signed into law on 13 November by President Asif Ali Zardari, ends the 49-year-old tri-service coordinating post and consolidates operational, administrative, and strategic authority under the newly created Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), who will simultaneously serve as Chief of Army Staff.

Field Marshal Asim Munir is set to be notified as Pakistan’s inaugural CDF-cum-COAS in the coming hours, with his tenure reset to a fresh five-year term (2025–2030) and the option of another five-year extension until 2035.

Key features of the new structure:

• Creation of a four-star Commander National Strategic Command (CNSC) to oversee unified nuclear and strategic forces
• Direct CDF authority over CNSC appointments and extensions, insulated from judicial review
• Elimination of the CJCSC from the Army, Navy, and Air Force Acts
• Enhanced CDF influence over joint operations, multi-domain warfare, and inter-service integration

In his farewell address, outgoing CJCSC General Sahir Shamshad Mirza welcomed the reform as “a compulsion rather than a choice” to meet futuristic challenges in cyber, space, and unmanned domains, while extending best wishes to the restructured tri-services headquarters.

The Joint Staff Headquarters is being reconfigured, with final organisational details under review. Amendments to the National Command Authority Act are pending.

The restructuring consolidates strategic command under a single apex leader, aligning Pakistan’s higher defence management with contemporary warfare requirements while sparking debate on service balance and institutional checks.