The Cabinet Committee on National Security (CCNS or C²NS), ( ur, ) previously known as the Defence Committee of Cabinet, is the principal federal institution and consultative forum used by the people-elected

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , 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, despite the president of Pak ...

for concerning matters of

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

national security National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military att ...

geopolitical Geopolitics (from Greek γῆ ''gê'' "earth, land" and πολιτική ''politikḗ'' "politics") is the study of the effects of Earth's geography (human and physical) on politics and international relations. While geopolitics usually refers to ...

geostrategic Geostrategy, a subfield of geopolitics, is a type of foreign policy guided principally by geographical factors as they inform, constrain, or affect political and military planning. As with all strategies, geostrategy is concerned with matching m ...

, and

foreign policy A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through ...

matters with the Prime minister's chief military advisers, senior government advisers and senior Cabinet ministers. Since its creation and inception under Prime minister

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourt ...

in 1976, the primary functions under the CCNS's domain is to advise and assist the Prime minister on issues involving the national security, threat of war, nuclear weapons politics, and challenges in geo-strategic and foreign policies. The CCNS serves as the prime minister's principal decision-making and consultative forum for co-ordinating national security and geo-strategic foreign policies among various government institutions and ministries. The CCNS is a counterpart of the

national security councils 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 na ...

of many other nations.

History

Inception and creation:1976–1991

In 1969, the concept of National Security Council was established by President

Yahya Khan General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan , (Urdu: ; 4 February 1917 – 10 August 1980); commonly known as Yahya Khan, was a Pakistani military general who served as the third President of Pakistan and Chief Martial Law Administrator following his p ...

, but it was dominated by the military science circles of Pakistan, and it had controversial standing in the political science circles of Pakistan. The NSC under Yahya Khan was marked with controversial image in the Pakistan's

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere. The NSC secretariat did not figure in the decision-making of the military government because President Yahya Khan ran his government administration as personalised enterprise relaying heavily on his close and trusted military and bureaucratic advisers. The NSC Secretariat under Yahya Khan was only a paper organisation. As an aftermath of disastrous conflict with

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), 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 and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

which led the

succession Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence. Governance and politics *Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...

of East-Pakistan, the

Hamoodur Rahman Commission The Hamoodur Rahman Commission (otherwise known as War Enquiry Commission), was a judicial inquiry commission that assessed Pakistan's political–military involvement in East-Pakistan from 1947 to 1971. The commission was set up on 26 Decem ...

led by Chief Justice

Hamoodur Rahman Chief Justice Hamoodur Rahman ( ur, ; 1 November 1910 – 20 December 1981), . , was a Pakistani Bengali jurist and an academic who served as the Chief Justice of Pakistan from 18 November 1968 until 31 October 1975. Educated in law ...

pointed the brutal failure and breakdown of civil-military relations between the

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

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wit ...

and political science sphere of Pakistan. Proponents of the reform realised that "no institutional means for the coordination of foreign and defense policy existed", and that the informal management techniques employed by President

and Prime minister Nurul Aminduring the during 1971 Winter war were not suitable for the long haul. Ever since, the calls were made by country's influential sphere to create the national security council. The origins of the Cabinet Committee on National Security date back to

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

of Pakistan,

in May 1976, after the state parliament strongly rejected the

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

's proposal of establishing the

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 ...

. Ultimately, Prime minister Bhutto published the

White paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...

on Higher Defence Organisations (HDO) which outlined the institutional arrangements for dealing with defence and national security affairs. With establishing the

Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee The Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC), ( ur, ); 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, ...

led by its

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, 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 group ...

, the DCC was established with the ultimate mandate and responsibility rested with the civilian Prime Minister and contained other government institutions involved in the decision-making on security and national security affairs. The CCNS repeatedly advise Prime minister Bhutto on various occasions on issues involving the geostrategic affairs, national security assessments, and internal political situation in the country. In 1976, the DCC held its first meeting chaired by Prime minister Zulfikar Bhutto with his senior military officials and strategists where he hold talks of possible war with Afghanistan, due to persistent aggressive acts by Afghanistan. Bhutto and Daud made an exchange of official visit to force Afghanistan to accept the

Durand Line The Durand Line ( ps, د ډیورنډ کرښه; ur, ), forms the Pakistan–Afghanistan border, a international land border between Pakistan and Afghanistan in South Asia. The western end runs to the border with Iran and the eastern end to th ...

as the permanent border.Pashtunistan
GlobalSecurity It was the first time that the DCC approved its first policy on foreign affairs and Western experts viewed Bhutto's policy as "astute policy" in regards to the border question clearly increased pressure of the Afghanistan and very likely helped stimulate Afghan governments move towards accommodation. In 1985, the DCC was controversially replaced by the newly formed but highly controversial

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 ...

(NSC) and continued its functions until 1993 when the NSC was dissolved by Prime minister

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...

in 1993.

DCC reorganisations and expansion: 1991–1999

In 1994, the DCC was again operationalised and had conducted fewer meetings between the Prime minister and prime minister's chief military advisers. In January 1997, President

Farooq Leghari Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari ( ur, ; 29 May 194020 October 2010), was a Pakistani politician who served as the eighth president of Pakistan from 14 November 1993 until resigning on 2 December 1997. He is the first Baloch to have been elected a ...

and Prime Minister Meraj Khalid reorganised the DCC council and established its operational parameter, more into public policy and nuclear weapons politics matters. The new people-elected Prime minister

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime minister of Pak ...

approved the new DCC policy and integrated the DCC with

Economic Coordination Committee The Economic Coordination Committee ( reporting name:ECC), ( ur, ) is a principle federal institution and a consultative forum used by the people-elected Prime Minister of Pakistan as its chairman, for concerning matters of state's economic secu ...

(ECC). Its parametric responsibilities included to provide comprehensive advice to federal cabinet on formulation of defence policy, its co-ordination with external and domestic policies and other matters with implications for security and stability. Barack Obama and Yousaf Raza Gillani in Seoul 2012

Barack Obama and Yousaf Raza Gillani in Seoul 2012

Since India's second nuclear tests,

Pokhran-II The Pokhran-II tests were a series of five nuclear bomb Nuclear weapons testing, test explosions conducted by India at the Indian Army's Pokhran#Pokhran Nuclear Test Range, Pokhran Test Range in May 1998. It was the second instance of nuclear t ...

in 1998, the nuclear weapons politics, nuclear restraints, and nuclear weapons exercise, has been integrated in the operational mandate of DCC council. The DCC council provided a meaningful and mutual environment of understanding of national security issues between the Pakistan Armed Forces and the civilian institutions. In May 1998, the repeated and emergency meetings of DCC provided a great environment of its performance when Prime minister Nawaz Sharif ordered Pakistan's first public nuclear tests,

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

which was followed by

Chagai-II Chagai-II is the codename assigned to the second atomic test conducted by Pakistan, carried out on 30 May 1998 in the Kharan Desert in Balochistan Province of Pakistan. ''Chagai-II'' took place two days after Pakistan's first successful test, ...

, after the DCC council conveyed various civil-military sessions with the Prime minister and the military leadership. Decision-making in matters of defence is to be a coordinated effort by the DCC council between the civil and the military elements in Pakistan. The DCC provides comprehensive consultative and unified point of view of military and people-elected civilian sphere in the decision making in Pakistan on issues involving the

, military policies in the

war on terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...

nuclear weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

development and operational development. Through the DCC council, the military has a permanent and influential seat at the cabinet-level meetings and

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, 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 group ...

of the

served DCC Council's principal and chief military adviser to advise the civilian prime minister on military spectrum and provide the military point of view on the important national issues.

Developments and meetings:2008 – present

The CCNS is not restricted to the key cabinet ministers, and any cabinet ministers can also attend the meeting. The CCNS reaffirms the permanent seat for the military leaders of joint forces at the Cabinet-level meeting. According to the reports of Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDT) published in March 2012 shows that DCC meetings were held nine times from April 2008 until March 2008. These civic-military meetings were reactive in nature and were held in response to an emergency issue or crises. The CCNS (known as the DCC before August 2013) replaced the controversial

(NSC) and its first meeting took place on 8 December 2008, under the chairmanship of Prime Minister

Yousaf Raza Gillani Yusuf Raza Gilani ( Urdu: ; born 9 June 1952), is a Pakistani politician who served as 18th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 25 March 2008, until his retroactive disqualification and ouster by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 26 April 2012. ...

, to discuss the security situation and to authorise nuclear force option to deter Indian pressure after the Mumbai attacks in 2008. Since then, the CCNS has acquired more salience than it was ever in the past decades. Since 2008, the role of Defence Cabinet Committee,

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

and its committees has increased. The military science circles is more forthcoming in giving briefings on national security issues to the Parliament and high-ranking civilians than it was in General Musharraf's period.

Parliament access and committees

* Standing Committee on Defence and Defence Production * Parliamentary Standing Committee on National Security *

Standing Committee on Defence Standing Committee on Defence (SCOF) is usually a parliamentary committee of parliaments of nations following a parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or su ...

* Public Accounts Committee

Structure

References

{{Cabinet of Pakistan , state=collapsed 1976 establishments in Pakistan

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Nuclear weapons programme of Pakistan Nuclear command and control Cabinet of Pakistan Continuity of government in Pakistan Pakistan federal departments and agencies