History and Composition of the Pakistan National Security Council

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Formed in March 25, 1969, National Security Council (‫( )قومی سالمتی کونسل‬NSC) is a federal
institutional and consultative body chaired by the Prime Minister of Pakistan as its chairman.
The NSC is a principal forum that is mandated for considering national security and foreign
policy matters with the senior national security advisers and Cabinet ministers. The idea and
inception of National Security Council was first conceived in 1969 under the President Yahya
Khan. Its functions were to advise and assist the president and prime minister on national
security and foreign policies issue.
NSC was re-created by then President General Pervez Musharraf in April 2004 under the
National Security Council Act. Although, the NSC remains to as a constitutional body, but not
active since 2008, and the Defence Committee of the Cabinet was fulfilling the role of NSC. The
first Adviser was Tariq Aziz who was appointed in 2004 and was preceded by Major-
General Mahmud Durrani in 2008. Since Durrani's deposing by P.M Yousaf Raza Gillani in
2009, there has been no appointment of NSC adviser since then. The NSC was abandoned by the
government of PPP and its functions has been taken under control by the Defence Cabinet
Committee as of 2009. The council was revived under Nawaz Sharif, who presides over
meetings of the council when there was an emergency, such as hostilities between India and
Pakistan, or a chance to discuss events related to the insurgency. The Constitution of Pakistan in
the past provided for the National Security Council. However, the provision was abolished by
the 18th Amendment.
Composition: Depending on the agenda of the meeting, other concerned persons are also invited
in the meeting of the NSC.
Structure of the Pakistan National Security Council
Ex-Officio members and permanent
Public office and Statutory
officials
Chairman of the National Security Council Prime Minister of Pakistan
Secretary Federal Secretary National Security Division
Advisor National Security Advisor
Military Advisor Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
Intelligence Advisor DG Inter-Services Intelligence, DG Intelligence Bureau
Minister of Defence, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Statutory Attendees Minister of Interior, Minister of Finance
Minister of Law and Justice
Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff
Military Attendees
Chief of Navy Staff
Principal Secretary to the P.M, Interior Secretary
Additional attendees Finance Secretary, Attorney General, Ambassador to the
United Nations, Leader of the Opposition
The Council serves as a forum for consultation for the president and the federal government on
matters of national security including the sovereignty, integrity, defence, and security of the State
and crisis management in general. It may also formulate recommendations to the president and
the federal government in such matters.
Inception: 1969-1971
President Yahya Khan established the NSC in 1969. The Pakistan military has been sending
many recommendations for the establishment of the National Security Council as similar and
counterpart to the American National Security Council. A comprehensive report on NSC was
written and submitted by the Chief of Naval Staff in 1968. Admiral Ahsan submitted his
handwritten report to President Yahya Khan in 1969 and emphasized support for the
establishment of the military dominated national security council composed of senior civil and
military officials who would advise the government on national security issues and propose
strategies involving the foreign policy matters. In 1969, President Yahya Khan established the
National Security Council, after signing and issuing the presidential decree to establish this
consultative body. Major-General Ghulam Omar was appointed NSC's first secretary and was
posted at the GHQ to perform operations of NSC under President Yahya Khan. The NSC
secretariat was part of the Chief Martial Law Administrator and was directly under the control of
the military establishment which then-functioned under President Yahya Khan's staff.
The NSC secretariat was highly unpopular in public and political circles of Pakistan, and it
quickly gained notoriety in civil society due to its involvement in political and civilian
affairs. The NSC Secretariat under Yahya Khan was only a paper organization.
The Genesis: 1985-1999
Participants in debates regarding
Cadre/Office Notes
Nuclear Test
Nawaz Sharif Prime Minister Voted and Ordered tests
Sartaj Aziz Finance Minister Opposed but later retraced.
Mushahid Hussain Information Minister First to propose in favor of tests
Gohar Ayub Foreign Minister
Ishaq Dar Commerce Minister Supported tests
Shamshad Ahmad Foreign Secretary
Chairman Joint Chiefs
Gen Jehangir Karamat left decision on P.M
Chief of army staff
Adm. Fasih Bokhari Chief of Naval Staff Opposed tests on moral ground
ACM PQ Mehdi Chief of Air Staff Supported and provide logistics
Dr.Abdul Qadeer Khan Senior scientist at KRL Debated and proposed tests
Dr.Ishfaq Ahmad Senior scientist at PAEC Supported tests
 Dr.Samar Mubarakmand Senior scientist at PAEC Debated in favor of tests
Munir Ahmad Khan Senior scientist at PAEC Debated in favor of tests
Ahmad Kamal Representative to UN Diplomatic in favor of tests
Javed Hashmi Environmental Minister Debated in favor of tests

The concept of National Security Council as a bridge of stabilizing the civil-military

relations has always been favoured by the military spectrum of Pakistan since 1971. In 1973,
Pakistan military sent repeated recommendations of peculiar structure of the NSC in which
senior military commanders of were ensured seats. This led the ultimate creation of the Defence
Committee of the Cabinet which has the mandate of responsibility of national defence rested
with the PM. The DCC conveys matters to other important organisations involved in the national
security decision-making were included the Ministry of Defence, the Joint Staff Head Quarter of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and its Chairman, the Chiefs of Staff of the Pakistan Armed
Forces.
After the imposing of the martial law by chief of army staff General Zia-ul-Haq in 1977, the
NSC was empowered to "make recommendations relating to the issue of a Proclamation of
Emergency under Article 232, security of Pakistan and any other matter of national importance
that may be referred to it by the President in consultation with the Prime Minister."
The NSC was opposed by most political circles and was dissolved by Prime Minister Benazir
Bhutto in 1993 and reactivated the DCC operationalize in its place.
From 1998–99, there were only two NSC meetings took place which were chaired by the Prime
Minister Sharif; first occasion when Sharif ordered Pakistan's nuclear tests in response
to India's tests. NSC cabinet meeting, the Pakistani government, military, scientific, and civilian
officials were participating in a debate complicated the decision-making process. Although,
General Karamat debated towards presenting the national security and military point of view, the
final decision was left on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's say.
Secondly, the NSC meeting took place during the heights of the Kargil War in 1999.
Empowerment of the NSC at the bureaucratic level was the primary issue that led to the
forced relieve of Chairman Joint Chiefs General Jehangir Karamat in 1998. In an absence of the
forum, the disturbances in civil–military relations led to the dismissal of Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif in 1999 when he tried to dismissed the then-Chairman Joint Chiefs Pervez Musharraf.
After staging a coup against the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999, Chairman
joint chiefs Pervez Musharraf announced the establishment of six-member national security
council. Through a presidential act, the concept of NSC was formally established under an order
of the chief executive on 30 October 1999.
2007 NSC Debates on Lal Masjid

Participants in
Cadre/Office Participants in debates Cadre/Office
debates
 President &Army
Pervez Musharraf Aftab Sherpao Interior Minister
Chief
P.M & Finance
Shaukat Aziz Shujaat Hussain President, PML(Q)
Minister
Gen Ehsan-ul-Haq Chairman Joint Chiefs Ijaz-ul-Haq Religion minister
Khurshid Kasuri Foreign Minister Tariq Azim Pakistan Senator
Adm Afzal Tahir Chief of Naval Staff Ali Khan Attorney General
Tariq Aziz NSA Muhammad Durrani Information Minister
ACM Tanvir Ahmed Chief of Air Staff

Finally in 2004, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz presented the National Security Council through
an Act of Parliament and succeeded in constitutionally establishing the NSC for the first time in
April 2004. Originally the NSC bill proposed that the NSC would also deal with the "matters
relating to democracy, governance, and inter-provincial harmony." This sentence was later
controversially replaced by President Musharraf with "crisis management" without explaining its
operational definition. President and Chief of Army Staff General Pervez Musharraf created the
office in Aiwan-e-Sadr, and appoint civil bureaucrat Tariq Aziz as the first National Security
Advisor.
P.M Gillani abolished NSC in Feb. 2009 and remained inactive till 2008.
Restorative status (2013-Present)
Upon conclusion of the general elections in 2013, the PML(N)'s P.M Nawaz Sharif
appointed Sartaj Aziz as National Security Advisor (NSA) and on 9 Sept. After reconstituting
the Cabinet Committee on National Security, military gained more representation in the country's
politics, the NSC came into effect as an influential policy institution. Decision came from Prime
Minister Sharif to reconstitute the NSC to improve coordination between the civil and military
institutions to address militancy that has killed thousands of Pakistanis over the last few years.
According to the political scientist and civic-military relations expert, Aqil Shah, Sharif finally
did what exactly former chairman joint chiefs General Karamat had called for in 1998. Since
then, the NSC meetings with Prime Minister Sharif have been taking place frequently.
Two very important meetings of NSC were held on March 31, 2022 and April 22, 2022 under the
chairmanship of Imran Khan and Shabaz Sharif respectively to discuss the content of the cypher
dispatched by Pakistan ambassador to the US subsequently a meeting with Donald Lu, US
diplomat serving as Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs since 2021.