The National Command Authority (NCA) is the authority responsible for safeguarding the national security of Pakistan through command, control and operational decisions regarding Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme. With

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Cabinet of Pakistan, cabinet, desp ...

being its Chairperson, the NCA maintains and enhances the control and operational effectiveness of Pakistan's nuclear weapons stockpile and serves as a policy institute regarding weapons of mass destruction in Pakistan. Established in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

along with its secretariat, Strategic Plans Division, the NCA was a direct successor to the Air Force Strategic Command which was established by the then- Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Anwar Shamim in 1983.

Overview

The

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 ...

felt the need to establish an administrative authority after Pakistan's first publicly announced atomic tests, ''

Chagai-I Chagai-I is the code name of five simultaneous underground nuclear tests conducted by Pakistan at 15:15 hrs Pakistan Standard Time, PKT on 28 May 1998. The tests were performed at Ras Koh Hills in the Chagai District of Balochistan Province. C ...

'' and '' Chagai-II'', in late May 1998 at the Ras Koh Range in the Chagai Hills, and the Kharan Desert of

Balochistan Province Balochistan (; ; , ) is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southwestern region of the country, Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by land area but is the least populated one. It is bordered by the Pakistani provinces of Khybe ...

. The roots of such mechanism traced back to the 1970s when

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 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

authorized the atomic bomb project to keep the projects safe from being exploited, politicized, or infiltrated by enemy powers attempting to sabotage them. In April 1999, 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 and the Chief of Army Staff, General

Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf (11 August 1943 – 5 February 2023) was a Pakistani general and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Prior to his career in politics, he was a four-star general and appointed as ...

developed a unified central command system to use nuclear and missile technology as part of the defence and security of nuclear assets under government control. The command was formally established on February 3, 2000, after approval by Pakistan's

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 ...

. The command compromises the ''Employment Control Committee'' (ECC), the ''Development Control Committee'' (DCC), and a ''Strategic Plans Division'' (SPD). The Prime Minister— Chief Executive (Head of Government) of the country serves as its chairman while other members included the high-profile Ministers of

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

, Defence ( Military Production),

Economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

, and Interior. The DCC includes the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee (as deputy chairman of DCC), the chiefs of the armed forces, the director general of the SPD, and a "representative of the strategic organization and scientific community (science adviser)". The Joint Staff Headquarters (JS HQ) served its combatant operational command. Pervez Musharraf, as

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

, served as its first chairman. However, after the 2008 General Elections, Pakistani lawmakers introduced a new law which was passed unanimously by the

Pakistani Parliament The Parliament of Pakistan is the supreme legislative body of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It is a bicameral federal legislature, composed of the President of Pakistan and two houses: the Senate and the National Assembly. The president, ...

. The bill placed the NCA under the Prime Minister’s authority.

Organizational structure

The NCA consists of the following nine

ex officio member An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term ''ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by ri ...

s:http://www.na.gov.pk/acts/act_2010/national_command_authority_act2010_090310.pdf The DG 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. 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.

Subordinate units

Strategic Plans Division

In 1990, the Combat Development Directorate was created by the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

, with Major-General Ziauddin Butt becoming its first director-general. The directorate concerning with nuclear weapons development and delivery mechanism reported directly to army chief or the chief of general staff. The combat development directorate functioned until 1998 with Lieutenant-General Zulfikar Ali Khan its final director when the Strategic Plans Division was created as a secretariat of the National Command Authority in 2000. The directives of the National Command Authority are operationalized by the Strategic Plans Division (SPD) under the control of a Director-General at the rank of

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

( Air Marshal or

Vice-Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

). As of 2022, the director-general of the SPD is Yusuf Jamal.

Army Strategic Forces Command

Naval Strategic Forces Command

Air Force Strategic Command

References

External links

CSIS Missile Threat - Pakistan

National Command Authority Act, 2010

{{Project-706 Government of Pakistan Nuclear weapons programme of Pakistan Pakistan federal departments and agencies 2000 establishments in Pakistan Continuity of government in Pakistan Government agencies established in 2000 Nuclear safety and security