The Ministry of Defence (, abbreviated as MoD) is a ministry of the federal

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 ...

, tasked in defending national interests and territorial integrity of

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# ...

. The MoD oversees mission execution of its policies and supervises all agencies of the government directly related to the national security and the

Pakistan Armed Forces The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consists of three uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are backe ...

. The existence and functions of the ministry are statutorily defined in ''Part XII, Chapter II'' of the

Constitution of Pakistan The Constitution of Pakistan ( ; ISO 15919, ISO: '' Āīn-ē-Pākistān''), also known as the 1973 Constitution, is the supreme law of Pakistan. The document guides Pakistan's law, political culture, and system. It sets out the state's outlin ...

with

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

being its head who reports directly to

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 ...

. The responsibilities for procurement, production and disposal of equipment were transferred in 2004 to the

Ministry of Defence Production The Ministry of Defence Production (; ''Trans.'': ''Wazarat-e-Defai Padawar'') abbreviated as MoDP, is an executive ministry of the federal Government of Pakistan with objectives of development and production of ordnance and machinery for the ...

. The Ministry of Defence is one of the largest federal ministries of the Government of Pakistan in terms of budget as well as staff.

History

The Ministry of Defence (

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

: وزارت دفاع; ''

Transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → and → the digraph , Cyrillic → , Armenian → or L ...

'': ''Wazarat-e-Difa'') was created on 14 August 1947 from the partitioning of

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

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 ...

, with

Liaquat Ali Khan Liaquat Ali Khan (1 October 189516 October 1951) was a Pakistani lawyer, politician and statesman who served as the first prime minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the he ...

taking the additional charge as first

. From

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

until

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

, the MoD was highly centralised with decision-making process and defence policies was solely depended on the

General Headquarters (Pakistan Army) The General Headquarters (abbreviated Army GHQ) is the direct reporting and the command post of the Pakistan Army, located in the Chaklala at the vicinity of Rawalpindi, adjacent to the Joint Staff Headquarters (JS HQ). History In 1851, t ...

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 ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

. In 1973, the

provided the legal existence and its concise functionary role in defined ''Part XII, Chapter II'', which strongly supported the

civilian control of the military Civil control of the military is a doctrine in military science, military and political science that places ultimate command responsibility, responsibility for a country's Grand strategy, strategic decision-making in the hands of the state's c ...

to prevent any misadventures affecting the national integrity of Pakistan. Since 1973, many reforms have been carried out to strengthened the role of the ministry and execute its mission and scopes. From 1947 until 2004, the MoD also oversaw the roles of military expenditures and procurement when the

was created. Unlike the other federal ministries, the MoD is still based in

, near the vicinity of GHQ and the JS HQ. In its current mission parameters, the MoD is works to execute the defence policy and coordinates its functions among the different agencies and contractors relating to defence. The MoD also grants security clearances under British-styled

Official Secrets Act An Official Secrets Act (OSA) is legislation that provides for the protection of Classified information, state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security. However, in its unrevised form (based on the UK Official Secret ...

to those involved in programs related to national security.

Organizational structure

The

, appointed by the

, is an elected member of

Parliament of Pakistan The Parliament of Pakistan is the supreme Legislature, legislative body of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It is a bicameralism, bicameral federation, federal legislature, composed of the President of Pakistan and two houses: the Senate of ...

who is a head of the ministry per accordance to the Constitution. The Defence minister is assisted by the Secretary of Defence and Parliamentary Secretary of Defence to oversee the bureaucratic matters and issues relating to administering the civil affairs between the military and the Prime Minister's Secretariat in Islamabad. The Ministry of Defence is composed of Secretariats of Army, Air Force, and Navy, the

Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee 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, National Security Council, Defen ...

, tri-services headquarters ( GHQ, AHQ and NHQ), secretary from finance ministry for military financing, and joint secretaries from each secretariats of army, air force, and navy. The following is a simplified representation of the MoD's senior leadership: File:Flag of the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.svg,

File:Pakistan Army Emblem.png, Secretariat-I Army File:Roundel of Pakistan.svg, Secretariat-II Air Force File:Roundel of Pakistan – Naval Aviation.svg, Secretariat-III Navy File:Pakistan Inter Services (Emblem).png, Joint Staff Headquarters File:Flag of the Pakistani Army.svg,

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 ...

File:Naval Standard of Pakistan.svg,

Pakistan Navy The Pakistan Navy (PN) (; ''romanized'': Pākistān Bahrí'a; ) is the naval warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Chief of the Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Com ...

File:Air Force Ensign of Pakistan.svg,

Pakistan Air Force The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) (; ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy when re ...

File:Crest of pmsa.jpg,

Maritime Security Agency Maritime Security Agency can refer to: * Indonesian Maritime Security Agency * Pakistan Maritime Security Agency {{Military unit disambiguation ...

File:Military-Engineer-Services-Pakistan-MES-Logo-1.jpg, Military Lands and Cantonments Department

Restructuring

In the past, the Aviation Division (established in 2013) and

(established in 2004) were also part of the MoD. The

Special Communications Organization The Special Communications Organization (SCO) is a Pakistani public sector organization operated by MoIT&T. SCO plays a role in providing telecommunication services in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan to almost 1.8 million people, a quarter of ...

was also part of the MoD when it was separated and attached to the Ministry of Telecommunication in 1976. Prior to the establishment of the National Command Authority (NCA) in 2000, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) was responsible for the security and development of Pakistan's nuclear weapons, including oversight of the weapons testing laboratories. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) does not have direct control over several uniformed paramilitary organizations in Pakistan, despite the appointment of their leadership often coming from

. These organizations, including the

Pakistan Rangers The Pakistan Rangers () are a pair of paramilitary federal law enforcement corps' in Pakistan. The two corps are the Punjab Rangers (operating in Punjab province with headquarters in Lahore) and the Sindh Rangers (operating in Sindh province w ...

Frontier Corps The Frontier Corps (, reporting name: FC) are a group of four paramilitary forces of Pakistan, operating in the provinces of Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to maintain law and order while overseeing the country's b ...

Coast Guards A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

and

Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts The Gilgit−Baltistan Scouts are a federal paramilitary force in Pakistan, tasked with internal security in the nominally autonomous territory of Gilgit-Baltistan and border guard duties. The force was formed in 2003 under the control of the ...

, fall under the administrative control of the Ministry of Interior (MoI).

References

External links

MoD official website
{{authority control * D D

D M

History

Organizational structure

Restructuring

See also

References

External links