The Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC), (); is an administrative body of senior high-ranking uniformed military leaders of the unified Pakistan Armed Forces who advises the civilian

government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

, Defence minister, president and prime minister of Pakistan on important military and non-military strategic matters. It is defined by statute, and consists of a

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

, the military chiefs from

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

and the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

: all four-star officers appointed by the president, on the advice of the prime minister. The chairman is selected based on seniority and merit from the chiefs of service of the three branches of the Pakistan Armed and Defense Services. Each service chief, outside their Joint Chiefs of Staff obligations, performs their duty directly for the ministry of Defence. Following the Hamoodur Rahman Commission, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee does not have operational command authority. Instead, the Joint Chief of Staff Committee is a principal military advisory body, and coordinates command operations between the services. The committee is headed by the four-star officer who is designated as the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC). The chairman is the

de Jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

Commander in chief of all services of the Pakistan Armed Forces, but he does not have operational authority over combatant forces, which report directly to their Chiefs of Staff. The Joint Staff, is headquartered in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

near the vicinity of Naval, Air, GHQ headquarters. The Joint Chief of Staff Committee is composed of all uniformed military personnel from each inter-service, who assist the chairman to coordinate military efforts.

Historical overview

Early years: 1950s–71

In early 1950s, the recommendations were sent to the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

of establishing the joint staff committee, but it was resisted by the

as it feared that it would be dominated by the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

. As the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

grew in size and political influence increased after the 1965 war with

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Though, the joint coordination mechanism was felt but no steps were taken. Martial law was proclaimed all over in Pakistan for the second time on March 25, 1969, to curb civil disobedience which was especially chronic in East Pakistan. The number of army personnel in the Eastern region was increased in the beginning of 1971 fearing a possible Indian intervention. As the crisis in East Pakistan progressed, following the intervention by

, the top military brass had the full control of the military and state's affairs. In the absence of the joint staff mechanism, the defence plans and executions of operations were oversaw by each inter-service which affected the overall performance of the armed forces. Coordination between each inter-service became increasingly difficult. In a thesis written by Pervez Cheema, the 1971 war was fought "without a purpose and with total lack of coordination between the civil effort and the armed forces, and between four fighting services: the

and

." Furthermore, the federal studies also noted that the top military brass had alienated the

and

. in which, none weren't taken in confidence, and the joint efforts were unsupported at either a planning or operational level, and were also constrained over disagreements during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Due to lack of complete and comprehensive communication, each services blamed the others for operational failures.

Higher Direction of War act

As surrendered to

in 1971,

Prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto formed a federal

commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

chaired by Chief Justice Hamoodur Rahman to conduct federal studies on the failure of the civil-military relations. Recommendations noted in "Higher Direction of War act" in the HRC report, it strongly called for the establishment of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) mechanism with headquartered in MoD. Per the act, the JCSC composed of a chairman, the Chief of Naval Staff, the Chief of Army Staff, and the Chief of Air Staff. It was mandate to have a collective responsibility of national defence and mechanism of plans based on a joint objectives. The chairmanship was to be rotated between each inter-services, irrespective of the personal ranks in each service. Lesson learns and recommendations after the 1971 war with

, all military work, combat coordination, and joint missions are overseen by the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee at the Joint Staff Headquarters located in

, Punjab, Pakistan. All studies were accepted in March 1976, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee was officially formed with army general Muhammad Shariff becoming its first Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. It is headed by a four-star officer designated as chairman. , there had been fourteen four-star Pakistan military officers who headed the Committee Secretariat. Altogether, there has been twelve were from the army, one from the Air Force, and two from the Navy have served. The headquarters are known as Joint Staff Headquarters and act as secretariat of JCSC. It is located at Chaklala, Rawalpindi. , General Sahir Shamshad Mirza is serving as the Chairman. The federal studies were fully supported by the military and many of the recommendations were implemented in 1980s to improve the joint efforts.

Roles and responsibilities

Military failure in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

and war with India in 1971, the federal studies on civil military relations led by the

Commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

by Chief Justice Hamoodur Rahman helped establishing the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee to coordinate the joint missions and executions of their work altogether during operations. The Chairmanship of Joint Chiefs rotates among the three Inter-Services; the Chairman joint chiefs is appointed by the

and confirmed by the President. The

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee outranks all other four-star officers; however, he does not have operational command authority over the Armed Forces. In his capacity as chief military adviser, he assists the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense in exercising their command functions. Technically, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee is the highest military body; and its Chairman joint chiefs serves as the Principal Staff Officer (PSO) to the civilian

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, Cabinet,

(its adviser), and the President. The Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee deals with joint military planning, joint training, integrated joint logistics, and provides strategic directions of the armed forces. Reviews periodically the role, size, and shape of three Inter–Services, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee advise the civilian government on strategic communications, industrial mobilizations plans, and formulating the defence plans. In many ways, the JCSC provides an important link to understand, maintain balance, and resolve conflicts in the civil military relations between military and political circles. In times of peace, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee's principal functions are to conduct planning of civil–military input; in times of war, the

Historical overview

Early years: 1950s–71

Higher Direction of War act

Roles and responsibilities

Current leadership

Permanent members

Temporary members

See also

References

Further reading